Don't pass on prejudice

Prejudice is like measles. You usually get get it during childhood, it is very contagious and you catch it from someone in your immediate environment. The difference though, is that you don't get over it easily; the effects are often lifelong and they will inhibit your emotional growth and rob you of opportunities for learning and pleasure in later years. I write from personal experience.

I remember World War II. In my country, Canada, there were ration books with stamps for butter, sugar and gas. The family gathered around the radio each evening, listening to reports of conflicts in faraway lands. I remember seeking reassurance that "the bad men" wouldn't come to our country. The names of the nations which were our enemies became branded into my brain. In my childish way, I hated them. Every night I prayed for all the people in these wicked lands to drop dead. Of course, no one taught me to do this; at the time it seemed like the best solution to the evil war. Fortunately, the Lord loves and understands children. He doesn't take all of their petitions literally.

The sad fact remains that these feelings of animosity remained with me well into my adult years. Whenever I met someone from one of the formerly hostile nations, a combination of negative emotions would storm my consciousness: suspicion, mistrust,
aversion, and a compelling desire to run away. As years passed, I've tried to rationalize and overcome these feelings, but fears and phobias instilled in childhood are hard to erase.

Now, we are experiencing, with our allies, another war. This time we cannot assure the children that the enemy will not come to our country. They are already here. With the freedom of movement we enjoy today, many people from Muslim lands rub elbows with us and our families every day. We must not make the mistake of teaching the children to fear and mistrust their fellow citizens who are Muslim.

We should explain that the people are not bad. Some countries have bad leaders, who cause their people to think and act in ways that are wrong. Most of the people in these lands are just like us. They work and play, laugh and cry, have pets and birthdays and grandparents like we do. And, all over the world, every country has good people and bad people. We must judge everyone individually, on their character, not on their racial background.

The world is smaller now. We live in the global village. We will deprive the children of enriching experiences, of becoming familiar with a variety of cultures if we unwittingly teach them prejudice. More alarming still, we risk the possibility that the mistrust and hostility will continue long after Al Qaeda, George Bush, you and I are gone. Who among us would want our children to live under conditions like those in the Middle East today?

In our multicultural society, the next-door neighbors may be of any race or creed. If we have open minds and tolerant attitudes, our children will unconsciously absorb them. When they watch us living, working, socializing and functioning comfortably with people of every ethic background, we are teaching them the best way, by example. "Love thy neighbor" will become a way of life, not just an impractical ideal.