While intolerance is alive and well throughout our world today, there seem to be remarkable
efforts to spread information around the planet in the hope of dismantling the
prolific hatred that has been born of our fear and ignorance. As global
economic distress escalates, indirectly threatening the education of our young, and
self-righteous fundamentalists, bullies, and extremists waive their flags
as prominently as ever, the future of our species hangs in the balance.
How do we stop fearing, hating and destroying each other? The most obvious place to begin is by learning how to relate to ourselves and those around us in a more loving and constructive fashion. Subsequently, it seems we'd all be served by broadening our knowledge base and finding the courage and willingness to familiarize ourselves with people we don't understand - people who are strange and foreign to us. How do we educate ourselves, as such, without slipping into the convenient and comfortable lie that we are "better than?"
How do we stop fearing, hating and destroying each other? The most obvious place to begin is by learning how to relate to ourselves and those around us in a more loving and constructive fashion. Subsequently, it seems we'd all be served by broadening our knowledge base and finding the courage and willingness to familiarize ourselves with people we don't understand - people who are strange and foreign to us. How do we educate ourselves, as such, without slipping into the convenient and comfortable lie that we are "better than?"

Certainly not...ever see anyone truly white or black? - of course not. Am I Caucasian or Caucasoid? Note the following Wikipedia entry:
So, enter the work of Spencer Wells, one
of my modern day heroes:(again, I cite Wikipedia):

Since 2005, Wells has headed The Genographic Project, undertaken by the National Geographic Society, IBM, and the Waitt Family Foundation, which aims to creating a picture of how our ancestors populated the planet by analyzing DNA samples from around the world. He presents the knowledge gained from the project around the world, including at the 2007 TED conference, where he spoke specifically about human diversity.
In short, Spencer Wells' conclusions have corroborated various other scientific disciplines, including archaeology and paleontology, to suggest that all modern humans are very closely related and that we all share a common African ancestor as recently as 50,000 years ago. Wells, and others, seem to have provided much of the scientific evidence we've needed to "do away" with the concept of "race"
altogether. Granted, we will always have a natural tendency to fear that which we
don't understand.
I'm reminded of several remote tribes I studied as part of my anthropology curriculum many years ago. I recall one instance in which it was customary for strangers, when encountering one another in the jungle, to try to figure out what remote, familial relationship they might have to each other. If they could't determine any relationship, they would fight until one man was dead.

If we were to find that we are all close family, perhaps we wouldn't be so quick to kill each other off...
Wouldn't it be nice to refer to someone as "brother" or "sister" and actually mean it?
What would it look like if we could move in the direction of sharing, respecting, and celebrating our differences? The Genographic Project seems to do just that. More importantly, it explains how we are all so closely related...it demonstrates how we are, in fact, one human family.
Perhaps our real challenge is to be able to equally value both our remarkable differences as well as our amazing similarities to each other across the planet. In reality, I've never seen a truly white, black, yellow, or red person. I asked my seven year old daughter what color my "Caucasian"skin was...she is a very creative young artist, and she has an unusual appreciation for color...she saw some brown, yellow, purple, green, yellow, and lots of pink. Neither of us could see a drop of white.
I'm reminded of several remote tribes I studied as part of my anthropology curriculum many years ago. I recall one instance in which it was customary for strangers, when encountering one another in the jungle, to try to figure out what remote, familial relationship they might have to each other. If they could't determine any relationship, they would fight until one man was dead.
If we were to find that we are all close family, perhaps we wouldn't be so quick to kill each other off...
Wouldn't it be nice to refer to someone as "brother" or "sister" and actually mean it?
What would it look like if we could move in the direction of sharing, respecting, and celebrating our differences? The Genographic Project seems to do just that. More importantly, it explains how we are all so closely related...it demonstrates how we are, in fact, one human family.
Perhaps our real challenge is to be able to equally value both our remarkable differences as well as our amazing similarities to each other across the planet. In reality, I've never seen a truly white, black, yellow, or red person. I asked my seven year old daughter what color my "Caucasian"skin was...she is a very creative young artist, and she has an unusual appreciation for color...she saw some brown, yellow, purple, green, yellow, and lots of pink. Neither of us could see a drop of white.
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