Horrific.
Atrocious.
Heinous.
(Insert additional synonyms to describe the recent violent actions of American citizens).
Let us stop here. Let us refrain from creating a never-ending list of descriptors to illustrate and reiterate the narrative in the popular media that is so persistently drilled into our memory.
Let’s talk about the root of the problem.
As you know, our brain controls every single function that our body and mind enacts – from physical touch to emotional sensations; our brain creates our entire perception, and thus experience, of the world around and within us.
What many of us are unaware of is the powerful and pervasive influence that the thoughts which our brain produce have on our view of the world, its inhabitants, and ourselves.
Have you ever been hurt by a man or woman and said to yourself, “I am done with men,” or perhaps, “All women are a waste of time”?
Have you ever been turned down for a job position and consequently internalized this rejection such that, “Nothing will ever work out for me”?
Have you ever described your rival political party as “entitled liberals,” or “bigoted conservatives”?
Let me ask you this: have you ever used the words “all,” “every,” “none,” or “never” to draw conclusions about single instances, idiosyncratic situations?
When I consider this question, I naturally recall a conversation with that I once had with an individual who was a state-prison inmate. Upon asking the question mentioned above, this man said to me, with furrowed eyebrows and a brilliant, intent expression, “you’re talking about ‘us versus y’all; the mentality that fuels a war.’” His words should resonate with the entire American society.
It is our brains which functions to organize and make sense of external information, that naturally categorizes the world in terms of black and white; or shall I say, black and blue, today.
It is our very own brains that call upon readily available information to interpret new information.
This is why when we see a shooting in which the life of a black male has been taken at the hands of a white police officer, we recall a previous news report of the same story. This is we simplify a complex and entirely unique situation such that, “A White Officer Guns Down A Black Male.”
Be more than that, America. Recognize the faults in your automatic thoughts. Stop applying conclusions to entire entities of individuals, rather than drawing attention to the variable components that produce a single situation.
ISIS does not define the Muslim community.
KKK is not Christianity.
Alton Sterling is not every black individual in America.
The officers that took the life of Alton Sterling are not every officer in America.
We can consciously reverse our polarized and globalized view of the world.
We can stop the “us vs. them” thoughts dead in their tracks.
We can ultimately completely alter and improve our entire perception of the world around us.
It is not “black versus blue.”
It is, “the brain versus reality.”
