Discrimination rears its ugly head

Discrimination rears its ugly head often in our daily encounter with others. Unless we come to grips with this monster, it will continue to fester and eventually turn on us and destroy our beautiful islands. True, discrimination is not unique to us, for it is practiced all over the world. But that doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t help the CNMI who needs the diversity of ethnic groups for survival. As we become increasingly multi-ethnic and more integrated through mixed marriages, the need to resist discrimination has never become so compelling.

At times discrimination wears various masks such as segregation, apartheid, racism, prejudice, bias, bigotry, intolerance, chauvinism, parochialism, partiality, provincialism. Regardless of the name in which it disguises itself, the damage is always the same. It separates peoples, destroys unity in any society, and worst of all, it humiliates the dignity of any man or woman.

The more I study my fellow men, the more I arrive at a single truth which seems to permeate all our actions towards our fellow men. It appears that whether we are rich or poor, educated or not, of one race, gender, religion or another, we all desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. This desire is also carried over to the ones we love such as family members. To these two ends we devote all of our energy and resources

This desire or inclination to be happy and to avoid suffering knows no boundaries. And it is this instinctive character that causes us to judge our fellow men. When we find them to be different or threatening we become prejudiced against the individual or group of individuals. Often when we attempt to search for the causes for our biased actions, we are at a loss for a rational reason. For those who seek to overcome discrimination towards our fellow men, one word that flashes to mind –– compassion.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his book, Ethics for the New Millennium best sums up what our attitude should be towards our fellow men who are different from us:

“Compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful. And it is the source of all lasting happiness and joy. And it is the foundation of a good heart, the heart of one who acts out of a desire to help others. Through kindness, through affection, through honesty, through truth, and justice towards all others we ensure our own benefit. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. Nor is there any denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer…. Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion.

“This, then is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practice these in our daily lives … as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.”

Hopefully the above thoughts will cause us to reflect and reconsider our attitudes on discrimination. At least, if we cannot accept differences, let us not harm those that are. We will all look the same in the grave.