Thu, Nov 2, 2023
when you consider the phrase "liberal minds, racist instincts," you're looking into a mixture of paradoxes unique to humans, one that grows from the very roots of our evolutionary biology and contemporary societal conditioning. the phrase creates a sense of like wanting to enjoy the rainbow but getting caught up on one color.
the convictions of equality, liberty, and interconnectivity are the cornerstones of any liberal ideology. we celebrate these values, participate in progressive conversations, and drink lattes made with ethical ingredients, yet occasionally we discover that our intuition is deceiving us in the most surprising ways.
the why is simple to unwrap. our brains, those beautiful convoluted masses of neural highways, are built for pattern recognition. it's survival. there was an evolutionary benefit to tribealism -- the natural tendency to associate with people who share our appearance, mannerisms, and behaviors. that was easier. you had a lower chance of being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger or being attacked by another tribe, if you could identify your tribe.
in the present day, with our globe becoming more interconnected and globalized, these prehistoric survival impulses might occasionally clash with our lofty aspirations. it seems that this contemporary operating system occasionally has bugs in our primitive program. subtle prejudices and implicit biases are examples of how they appear, and occasionally even the most progressive people might harbor them.
The 'why' is question that matters much. it's a combination of our cultural indoctrination and evolutionary predispositions, according to theories. our reptile brain occasionally takes center stage, screaming antiquated tales of us against them, despite the efforts of our reasoning minds to suppress it. however, there is where self-awareness, beauty lies. the first step to overcoming them is realizing these hiccups in our thinking, these minor but important betrayals of our declared convictions.
the dance between racial impulses and a liberal intellect is not about behaving hypocritically or shamelessly. it's about human progress, comprehension, and the never-ending pursuit of improvement. the way forward is to embrace liberal principles while consistently verifying and honing our gut feelings. taking the time to reflect and change is, after all, maybe the most revolutionary act of all in this day of 280 characters and short stories.