by Jose Bustamante

Created on: May 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

They do suffer, that is a fact. I see one problem with that experience. They choose to do so. Suffering is one of the many emotions we opt to feel. Emotions are not required to live a normal and productive life; on the contrary, they make our lives miserable.

All kinds of discrimination can be painful but only up to the level we allow them to be. Life is so precious to waste with feelings that do not lead us to a normal and productive life.

Racism, sexism and any other kind of discrimination only exist to control targeted portions of the world's population so the group in power can benefit.

We freely have decided that strong feelings will be in control of our life. When we are born, we come with a pristine mind, ready to assimilate our own experiences.

Everybody surrounding the newborn will impose their beliefs and feelings, the same way their parents did whit them. Nobody escapes to learn the way our ancestors lived, felt, and believed.

We feel the pain of discriminatory actions only because we allow them to affect us. When we allow our emotions to take control we are bound to live a very unhappy life. When we control our feelings we grow strong and can use all that saved time in living a more peaceful and productive life.

When we are born, we are perfect human beings. Our instincts will make sure our body will function normally. Our mind, in a perfect scenario, will learn by our own experiences, needs, and goals. Emotions will not be in control. We can dedicate the length of our stay in this world to learn by experiences and interactions with other human beings. Suffering and all other emotions will not have a reason to be.

We as part of social, ethnic, cultural groups will not feel the need to control other groups; we will interact to enrich our lives. That is the perfect scenario; we do not live that way.

We all are victims of a very dangerous belief, faith. This particular mix of trust and principle created many thousand of years ago with the explicit purpose to control those not holding power.

Only in the last century and change, the vastness of the population did not get education, only those that hold the political and economic power did. With the weapons of rules and regulations, faith and ignorance, they exercise control over everybody else. They still do.

We suffer but are our choices to do so. In the moment we decide to stop feeling those crippling emotions, we will be in control.

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