by Madison Starr

Created on: May 12, 2008

The world would be a better place without prejudice. So much misery has been caused by man's prejudicial conflicts. Whether it is about race, gender, religion, or social class, prejudice has reared its ugly head too many times in the history of mankind. It has poisoned the minds of men and been the cause of destruction in the battle for equality and peace.

Prejudice is, in my opinion, a learned behavior. We are not born with the belief that we are better than others. Discrimination is not in our hearts when we are brought into this world. It is taught to us. It is an influence. Like all influences, it has greater effects on some than on others.

You don't need to look for long or very far to find evidence of the devastation that prejudicial beliefs have wrought. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, African slaves in America, the Holocaust, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the genocide in Uganda, the events of 9/11, these are some of the more publicized tragedies brought on by prejudice.

Humankind already has to face enough diversity, such as disease and natural disasters. Why should we add to it with our own fears and misconceptions? Why should we turn against each other and become bigots? We should be afraid of what is within our own selves than discriminating against someone for their ethnicity or religious beliefs.

Prejudice causes persecution, which in turn causes a stronger sense of power in the persecutor. We fear what we discriminate against. That sense of power and fear combine to birth monsters. Crimes against humanity are then committed. Is there a crime worse than that?

By subscribing to the belief that one ethnic group, religion, gender, or social class is better than another, you embrace ignorance and sacrifice enlightenment. By allowing prejudice to influence your choices, you lose the battle that all of us must fight. Equality is something we all seek, whether as an individual or as a society. By opposing it, we hold ourselves back from moving forward as a human race.

The fact of the matter is; certain individuals will always find something to discriminate against. It is the only way they know how to gain satisfaction and feel in control. The victims of these individuals will continue to be just that, until they're rescued or are fed up and launch a counter-attack against their persecutors. Then, war will happen once again and we will complete the vicious circle only to keep going around and around. One would think we would have learned by now.

There are many other things along with prejudice that would make the world a better place if they were to disappear. Greed, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth, and all of the rest of the deadly sins have their parts in making this world such a combative place to live in. Perhaps our ability to have free will is to blame or maybe it's simply human nature to destroy things as we go along. It seems as if for every new idea that's born, one must die in its place to make room.

Sometimes I wonder if all of this discrimination and hatred on the rise is just another side effect of the concept of survival of the fittest. If it is, what does that say about the strong and the weak? I have yet to truly figure that out. Then again, perhaps I just don't like the answer that I've come up with while pondering that question.

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