Goal 10:Eliminate discrimination based upon a person's inherited traits.ObstaclesPeople seem to have an innate fear of the "other". This has led to discrimination based upon inherent characteristics. We get discrimination based upon race, gender, place of origin and even physical appearance. None of these traits are under the control of either party and thus, are irrational. They are motivated by fear. Fear of losing one's identity, fear of being discriminated against if the other group becomes dominant, or fear of the unknown.In addition people in weakened economic, or social, circumstances can be placated by making them feel superior to some other group. Obviously, the way to reduce fear of the "other" is through education and economic equalization. Keeping one group down lowers the wealth and potential of a society and creates an indirect burden on everyone. Once people learn that discrimination hurts rather than helps their life goals it can be lessened. The younger generation in the US is much more comfortable with others than prior generations were. Mobility, improved access to information, and direct interactions have led to this outcome. ImplementationImplementing change that depends upon changes in a person's behavior or core feelings is mostly futile. Once people reach a certain age, they tend not to change much. Thus, to make progress in this area is more a function of changing the environment so that such attitudes are no longer acceptable to most people. In addition, the next generation has to be taught tolerance and understanding for "the other". In local communities this can lead into battles over proper curriculum, however with the increasing pervasiveness of global media, there is more exposure to differing cultures and less parochialism. Progress is slow, but judging by the 20th century, steady. Popular culture, not government, may be the leader in this area.In a democratic society there is no place for discrimination if the society is to function optimally. A sure sign that a society is being run by plutocrats is their support (either implicit or explicit) for one group over another. It is up to those who truly favor real equality to point out the anti-democratic aspects of this behavior and the real motivation for it. State sponsored discrimination is always motivated by a desire of the ruling elite to deflect notice from their privilege by creating classes of scapegoats. Even those not subject to the discrimination need to oppose it. Everyone bears the cost of having a group with lower economic strength. This shows up in the need for more social services, lower tax receipts because of lower earnings, lower productivity and smaller markets, and the general stress that pervades a society when groups are set against each other. Even if it isn't possible to change the attitudes of those who have grown up with discriminatory beliefs, it is possible to change the acceptability of overt behavior motivated by these attitudes. This is more than political correctness. The change in the types of expression that are acceptable is learned by children and makes them less likely to adopt these disfavored attitudes. We have seen many successful applications of this in the past, especially in the US. Those of Irish, Italian or Japanese descent were mistreated in the past but this is a rarity now. Discrimination based upon "voluntary" activities like religious affiliation is an ongoing problem which is mostly politically motivated. Groups use their promotion of specialness to bring in members, money and political influence. The rewards for doing this are so great that there seems to be no way to stop it. Perhaps the best one can hope for is calling attention to those who promote the most divisive views to attract members. |