Recognizing Humanity

Recognizing Humanity The capability for dehumanization is within all of us. This statement echoes through history up to the present time as true. Everyday humanity hears of incidents where the compassion and respect for human life is disregarded and demeaned. Everyday somewhere in the world someone is found wielding a gun or strapped with an explosive vest ready and willing to destroy innocent lives whose only crime was being at the right place at the wrong time. When sociologists try to understand why humanity's value for life is unchanging despite the milestones made as a species, the one answer that comes to mind is that people have the innate tendency to become inhuman. History has taught humanity very little about tolerance and people continue to make the same mistakes. However, humanity can be very accommodating, loving, and caring and this has been seen in people who have dedicated their whole lives to preach peace and further the teachings of kindness and compassion. In as much as we have the capability to love and care, we still revert to negative tendencies and this contributes to the social evils inherent in our everyday lives. This tendencies, however small, makes all the difference about what kind of people we can be. There was a time, in a grocery store and as people were going about their business picking out shopping from the shelves and onto their carts, three young men walked in to the store. They were noisy and seemed to be out of place. They were noisy and seemed to enjoy each other’s company. However, people kept staring at the trio suspiciously. The three young men picked a few bag of chips paid for them and exited the store just as they entered, jolly and enjoying each other's company. It was a sad to hear a woman say, “I thought those boys were going to rob us” and another woman agreed to confess that she was also fearful. The friends I was with also laughed it off and went about their business yet deep inside it was clear that