Open Your Mind Essay, Research Paper

“Open Your Mind” I am very concerned with the hate and bigotry going on in our world today. Over time, people have become more open-minded and less racist, but there is still much further to go for humanity. I believe that the environments that people have and continue to grow up and live in have much to do with how they behave. It is understandable then, how people can become so closed-minded and racist. This should not be an excuse, however, for people to act the way they do. It is time the world opened their minds and really thought about how they should feel and act. Considering my own experiences and environments, I am going discuss only a specific area of this problem, the hate between white and black people in the U.S. I grew up in a white, Anglo-Saxon family in a nice neighborhood with mostly other white people. My Grandparents, Parents, some Aunts and Uncles all lived in the same type of neighborhoods, except one difference. As time went on, the number of black families in their neighborhoods grew, and soon most of the population was black. During this time, the area’s poverty level increased also, and with it the crime level. They became what most people would call bad neighborhoods. In this kind of environment, it was hard for people to have respect for each other’s races. Much hate and racism came from these environments and after time the number of blacks to whites increased. As white people separated from these neighborhoods and into new and better neighborhoods, many brought with them the hate for black people. As well, many black people carried hate for white people. Today, even thought it is not as bad, it is still happening. Even though most of my family were racist towards black people and even to this day continue to be, I managed to keep an open mind and overcome this racism. I don’t like to see this in my relatives, and especially my parents. Time and time again I try to help them open their minds and become more worldly, but to no avail. It is almost like they have been brainwashed. They just won’t accept what I have to say. Racism is wrong, and there is plenty of logical reasoning to be able to put the hate behind. I have to admit that a great percentage of black people in the U.S. are just plain bad people. That is a fact, and much of the reason why many white people are racist towards blacks, however, it is not an excuse. I am not blaming the black race for their problems. Again, much of it has to do with the environments in which they were exposed to. Starting out as slaves coming to America, and over the years trying to reach the same level as the white people has been very difficult. Many black people today still have much hate for whites for this reason. They too need to open their minds and see past the hate.

There is no reason for the hate and disgust between these two races, or any races for that matter. There are bad people all over the world and in all different races. To a certain point, it is reasonable to feel a certain loathing or disgust for people that are morally crooked. But just because one race of people may have a large percentage of “Bad Apples”, if you will, doesn’t mean that you should feel abhorrent towards their entire race. The other main reason for racism in the world today is our cultural differences. Cultures have always clashed and will continue to do so, but people need to get past their differences and respect one another. If someone cannot respect another for his or her beliefs, they should realize their difference in opinion or lifestyle and respect that difference. It is very simple logic, and people need to start thinking more about their feelings and why they feel what they do. I believe that man is one race. We should not be divided into different races because of skin color and minor physical differences. We are the same. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white, Asian or Indian. We all bleed the same color. We all have two eyes and ten toes. What make us different are the environments we evolved in. I’m not going to get into the theory of evolution because that is a whole other argument. What make us different are our beliefs and cultures. The people of the world need to gain respect for one another no matter what color they are, no matter where they come from, and no matter what their beliefs. I wish my parents would open their minds and just figure things out. It is so very simple.