Sometimes I think about what is and isn't politically incorrect. When I was a kid, in a different world, in a different time, I don't think "politically incorrect" was even a phrase. As I grew up though, when I had my own kids, I was very "sensitive" about things. After all in college I had majored in Sociology and minored in American Studies. That is me and my sister as kids in an Indian head dress above, I'm the blond and probably the only time in my life I was taller than my sister.
When I was in college I spent an entire summer living on a poor Indian reservation, outside of Yuma, AZ close to the Mexican border. I have a post somewhere I've done on that, but can't find it right now. I learned a lot that summer. I learned what it felt like to be discriminated against for being white and blond. I learned what real poverty was, and I learned how unjust and unfair our world is. So, when I had my kids, when they were young, I didn't let them play with toy guns, dress up like Indians, as I did as a child, and I tried to expose them to many of the things in life that were important to me, especially about "accepting" people for who they are, not by the color of their skin. And now, today, I wonder if these sensitivities have backfired? Have we learned along our paths in life to be fair and just, or do we look for reasons to cry discrimination as a means to excel or excuse bad behavior? I think there are many good people in this world that are fair, that are just, and raise their children to be the same no matter what color, religion, or political party they favor. After all, we are all in this together, one world! As I watch my grandbabies grow, I hope that world gets here soon!
Sometimes I think about what is and isn't politically incorrect. When I was a kid, in a different world, in a different time, I don't think "politically incorrect" was even a phrase. As I grew up though, when I had my own kids, I was very "sensitive" about things. After all in college I had majored in Sociology and minored in American Studies. That is me and my sister as kids in an Indian head dress above, I'm the blond and probably the only time in my life I was taller than my sister.
When I was in college I spent an entire summer living on a poor Indian reservation, outside of Yuma, AZ close to the Mexican border. I have a post somewhere I've done on that, but can't find it right now. I learned a lot that summer. I learned what it felt like to be discriminated against for being white and blond. I learned what real poverty was, and I learned how unjust and unfair our world is. So, when I had my kids, when they were young, I didn't let them play with toy guns, dress up like Indians, as I did as a child, and I tried to expose them to many of the things in life that were important to me, especially about "accepting" people for who they are, not by the color of their skin. And now, today, I wonder if these sensitivities have backfired? Have we learned along our paths in life to be fair and just, or do we look for reasons to cry discrimination as a means to excel or excuse bad behavior? I think there are many good people in this world that are fair, that are just, and raise their children to be the same no matter what color, religion, or political party they favor. After all, we are all in this together, one world! As I watch my grandbabies grow, I hope that world gets here soon!
