prejudice – Page 2 – Engaging Peace

A new birth of freedom

Posted on February 9, 2012February 5, 2012 by kathiemm

“[W]e here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain–that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, PA, November 19, 1863)

Abraham Lincoln, 1858. Image in public domain.

As we celebrate Lincoln’s birthday on Sunday, let’s reflect on freedoms that still demand pursuit. There are many:

Freedom from racism, sexism, prejudice, and discrimination
Freedom from tyranny and injustice
Freedom to have control and choice in regard to one’s body, one’s mind, one’s labor
Freedom to live by the ethic of reciprocity without being punished for doing so.

Right now, important efforts to obtain freedom and democracy are underway in many parts of the world, and often without the support of our own democracy in the U.S.

Our own democracy is in need of support as well, as it is often undermined by our own government and citizens in the name of national security.

The United States does not have a good record regarding support for democratic movements elsewhere in the world. As a Muslim friend of mine said, the election of Barack Obama was in many ways revolutionary—an effort to take back the power of the people, by the people, and for the people from the ruling military/industrial/media complex.

The pro-democracy and Occupy movements throughout the world offer an opportunity for the President and the American people to put our money, support, and understanding where its professed values lie—to advance freedom, democracy, and peace.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Religions as revolutions

Posted on January 12, 2012January 7, 2012 by kathiemm

By guest author Majed Ashy, Ph.D.

Moses and escape from Egypt — Israel's escape from Egypt. Image in public domain

From the time of…

Moses, who helped guide the Israelis out of slavery and oppression to freedom, to
Jesus, who preached equality and love and changed the whole human understanding of power structures, to
Mohammad, who fought tyranny and oppression in Arabia and preached for justice and human dignity …

… one can see that these religions were in some ways revolutions, forces against existing oppressive power structures and traditions.

No doubt, some of the followers of religions established their own oppressive power structures and committed violence, but violence and oppression can be committed by non-religious as well as religious individuals and forces.

What did any religion have to do with the 20 million people killed in WWI, or the 60 million killed in WWII? With Vietnam, Korean, or Japanese wars, the Cambodian or Rwandan genocides, or the dropping of the nuclear bombs over Japanese civilians? Or the oppression and killing of millions in Russia and Eastern Europe by Stalin and other dictators, or the oppression committed by military dictators in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, among many others?

Linking violence to one religion or another reflects:

Selective attention and reading of the history of violence and oppression that existed before and after any of these religions were established
Overlooking the role of religions and religious people in fighting oppression and contributing to humans’ well being in many areas of life
A dangerous way of offering unexamined answers that feed popular cultural prejudices and fears
A simplification of the problem of human violence,l which transcends race, culture, or religion

Instead of falsely attributing violence to religion, we need a serious scholarly non-ideological discussion to find the real roots of violence and the way toward greater peace.

To achieve peace, we need courage to look in the mirror and see our own faults before we point fingers at others, and we need courage in our struggle to be fair — even with those with whom we disagree.

Dr. Majed Ashy, assistant professor of psychology at Merrimack College and research fellow in psychiatry at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Jared Loughner in the “mecca for prejudice”

Posted on January 27, 2011July 6, 2011 by kathiemm

The U.S. is a diverse nation with many subcultures. What do we know about cultural values in the Arizona in which Jared Loughner grew up?

Among the major values shaping the social climate in Arizona (the exosystem) are rugged individualism, conservative Christianity, anti-immigration policies and rhetoric, greater concern with the the First Amendment right to freedom of speech than the rights to freedom of religion and assembly, and aggressive support for the right to bear arms (as long as the bearer of the arms is white).

Where have those values led in recent years? Arizona is the state where local talk radio host “Jon Justice” called for “bloodshed in the polling places.”

Since Loughner’s rampage in Tucson, Arizona is also the state acknowledged by Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik to have become “the mecca for prejudice and bigotry,” a place where local TV and radio hosts should do some “soul-searching.”

As Roberto Lovato wrote for the Huffington Post (January 13, 2011), “To many of us, the ‘deranged lone gunmen’ on the desert fringe can sometimes bear more than a passing resemblance to the God-fearing, gun-wielding patriot filling our cities and suburbs; we see how the ‘rugged individualism’ of a previous era is being hijacked by powerful interests.”

Arizona is also the state that produced Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in many ways a model of personal agency in service of moral engagement. She has described problems (e.g., regarding education, health care, and the dangers of hate rhetoric) realistically; she has invoked moral principles consistent with the ethic of reciprocity in arguing for equal rights for gay people in the military; and she has been a humanizer rather than a dehumanizer of the downtrodden.

We dedicate today’s blog to Gabby. We pray for her successful recovery from violence–recovery not just from one disturbed youth, but from a hatred-filled minority that targeted her as a representative of a “demonized” government and as a spokesperson for values anathema to right-wing extremists.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

A recipe for tolerance on Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2010July 6, 2011 by kathiemm

What the first celebration of colonists and native people symbolized more than anything else was the coming together in peace of people with different languages, different ethnicities, different cultures, and different religions.

U.S. Army soldiers eat Thanksgiving meal in Afghanistan, 2009 — U.S. Army Soldiers eat their Thanksgiving meal on Combat Outpost Cherkatah, Khowst province, Afghanistan, Nov. 26, 2009. Photo in public domain; from Wikimedia Commons.

The Europeans were immigrants coming into a new land. It was the native peoples who helped assure their survival through the first winter, taught them much about farming, and celebrated with them their first successful crop.

Although George Washington issued the nation’s first proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving in 1789, it was not until the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, spurred by activist Sara Josepha Hale, that the November celebration was established as an annual national holiday. Lincoln’s proclamation urged all Americans to pray for “all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” These are words to live by.

Today when the drumbeat of hatred and intolerance grows louder, fueling wars worldwide, please use this Thanksgiving to set aside your own prejudices. With your family and friends, reflect on how a key moment in U.S. history epitomized the principles of acceptance, open-mindedness and peace.

To help you set the table for tolerance, check out the Recipe for Diversity and Teaching Tolerance. And for more information about the history of Thanksgiving as a U.S. national holiday, you might enjoy this video.

Then liven up your menus with some recipes rooted in our historical traditions:
Stewed Pompion (Pumpkin)
Sullabub (a parfait-like precursor to eggnog)

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology
Pat Daniel, Managing Editor of Engaging Peace