We've Been Programmed...

Good Morning Y'all!

Today, I want to evolve our beliefs around judgment and discrimination.

WE'VE BEEN PROGRAMMED

Lately, I've been creating a framework to challenge many of my thoughts, beliefs, and habits.

I do so by asking myself these questions…

"Is this just part of the human experience?”

“Are we supposed to be doing this?”

“Is this aligned with nature?"

Sadly, for much of how we live our lives today, the answer is no.

For some reason, probably because of how much attention it takes up online,

I've wondered if discrimination is validated by human biology.

Is it natural for us to hate other groups?

Whether it's Black people, Gay people, Jewish people, etc...

My conclusion...

No, of course not.

Can you imagine being four years old,

at the daycare with dozens of other kids,

and thinking...

"I bet that Arab kid has a bomb in his backpack."

or "I need to be careful, that Black kid might steal some of my food."

Yeah, that's not happening.

So if we're not being drip-fed racism and homophobia while we're in our mother's womb,

Why is it such a big part of today's society?

It's because we've been conditioned to believe in that reality.

Many, including myself, have subconsciously accepted the programming.

But we all know that it's crazy...

If I were to try to convince people that we need to become blue-eyed supremacists,

even the most racist people would look at me and laugh.

It would be idiotic to put down people because they have brown eyes...

Our eye color doesn't affect our morals or intelligence.

Because brown-eyed people are just as human as those with blue and green eyes.

MY UNDERLYING POINT

The hatred and judgment we have towards others has been fed to us amongst society,

it's not a natural part of the human experience.

I'm not here to give my two cents on why the people in power have chosen to fuel the fire of the tension between races,

I'm here to say that I've realized that any racist or homophobic thoughts that we have,

aren't ours.

They aren't our own thoughts and beliefs.

The example above, where the four-year-old is judging his classmates,

I'm painting the picture that it is impossible for a child to have these ridiculous beliefs,

unless he has been told them by others.

Those beliefs aren't intuitive to a child.

While scrolling through Instagram Reels, I saw a video of a kid,

who looks like he's four years old,

took over his dad's role of coach for a high school basketball team.

He starts drawing up plays with a dry erase marker on a clipboard while barking at the players to improve their defense.

It was absolutely hilarious.

It made my day.

It's obvious that the kid learned to behave like that from watching his dad.

Not to turn the attention back on something more sad...

But that's exactly what's keeping our judgment towards each other alive.

We're an entire generation that's emulating the generation that raised us.

We're learning all beliefs, including discrimination, from the people around us.

If we had hundreds of years of discriminating against brown-eyed people,

most of us wouldn't have the awareness to realize how foolish that concept really is.

CONCLUSION

This is a touchy subject, but it just felt right to talk about...

I'll never be one to feed the division, I'm here to guide us in rising above it.

The first thing we must understand is that...

All of our judgment towards others has been programmed within us.

It's not "us".

We are not naturally hateful,

It has been conditioned within us.

I say this to share my personal reflection on the shift in my awareness around human behavior,

and to empower us to let go of what no longer serves us.

This will become a more mainstream understanding in the not too distant future,

which makes me confident that tomorrow will be more unified than today.

That's it for today.

I hope you know that you are loved and you are enough.

See you tomorrow,

I unconditionally love you all.

-Cameron Hogan