Human legacy includes the fact that we are all pliable, malleable, plastic. Our characters, our spirits, moralities and values can be formed and reformed under life’s pressures. We are highly suggestible and often have little or no sales resistance. We are subject to the “isms.”
Some isms are choices and some seem to be imprinted on us from the earliest days of historic times. The nature/nurture argument is central here. For example, if you have chosen to adhere more closely to the Tao, you can decide to become a minimalist. You have exercised choice. But where do we find the isms that are imprinted on our humanity and those that are thrust upon us.
Patriotism, commercialism, -even sexism- are thrust upon us by our culture… they are learned. Three isms are subtly present in all people: racism, ageism and lookism appear to have been embedded in human material. Perhaps these three mindsets go back to the earliest days on the Serengetti where hunting and self defense dominated existence. For example, I think we are all profilers because for centuries our survival depended on an accurate threat assessment. We distrust the stranger until more is revealed. We all are made uncomfortable by those that are “other.” Add one stupid generalization to this process (all blue people are dangerous) and you have racism in its most basic form.
Lookism may have ancient antecedents as well. The fastest and the strongest were marked for leadership in hunting societies. Add one little element to this (beauty) and you have the “halo effect,” the belief that a person’s quality of character – their specialness – is directly related to their physical appeal. We have all used the phrase, “well they look the part.” We are suckers for pretty and we have many saws and sayings to remind us that, “all that glitters is not gold.”
Ageism tells you that certain people lose their ability to contribute to society. They eat but they don’t hunt. They need to be corrected and protected…or simply abandoned.
Whether we have been formed by our cultures or we believe that some isms are baked into our humanity each and every one of our habits of mind must be regularly scrutinized. Why do we believe what we believe? We will not defeat the isms until we destroy them in detail, a process that requires a laser focus on both the overt and the subtle.
The brilliant modern philosopher Ferris Bueller said it well, ” isms are not good. A person should not believe in an ism. He should believe in himself.” Yes, indeed. Being ourselves and questioning our isms might do us all a lot of good.
Olio Folio 