Ignorance and Arrogance: Alive and Well

We still have a lot of growing up

Photo by Gary Bendig on Unsplash

I thought by now, we would have grown up. But no, we are still ignorant children in a playground full of child bullies. Maybe it’s the human condition to want or need to hate something. Maybe it’s natural or the age old good versus evil, biblically speaking, good being God, love and peace, or the Devil’s brand of hate and chaos. I don’t know which, and more than likely it is a combination of both. But enough is enough. The ignorance and the bullying is wearing thin, and frankly, it is a disgusting habit, like smoking.

I think bigotry and racism are not just rooted in, but a symptom of utter ignorance. We hate what we do not know or understand.

We hate other religions, because we only know our own and subscribe to our own point of view of God. We hate various or whatever races, because we are whatever race we are, and we cannot possibly know what it feels like to be the other. (It doesn’t feel any different, dumbass. We are all people, humans. There is no difference.) We hate foreigners, because they don’t look like us, or talk like us. We hate immigration, because of the last statement, but also because we think they will come and take something from us, that we think is ours. (Get a clue, we did the same thing when we immigrated here from lily white England.) We hate different sexualities, because it’s not what we choose for ourselves, or because of religion. The list of things and reasons we hate is long and distinguished, and not defendable.

So what has my feathers plucked today. I’ll tell you.

It’s been two weeks since the Super Bowl. Months before it, the disgusting discourse began on why the talent was selected and the push to change the decision. (It doesn’t matter if it was even a political decision, cultural, or “woke”) When it began I already knew the bigots and racists were on their soapbox. So for me, that was the cue to turn off the tv, not that I have time to watch it to begin with, but even my social media blew up all over the place with this hot topic.

I didn’t know who Bad Bunny was, back then. But I later found out and wondered what the hell the commotion was about. It became clearer and clearer as the days droned on, being confronted with the vile ugliness of our country, or rather some of its inhabitants.

So, I am going to lay it out for everyone. There is only one label for the rhetoric spewing and staining our dress, America. Racist, uncompromising bigotry, and ignorance. You can throw stupidity in that bunch as well.

Hate seems to be the ongoing choice in our country these days, and maybe it has always been. We are a nation and a world of haters. Our country, while not the only one with hatred run amok, is one of the few that should be an example to the rest of the world. I don’t mean an example of how divisive and exclusive we can be, but it should exemplify unity in inclusivity, in admittance and acceptance, and in melding and coexistence. We were founded on that for crying out loud.

We came from England to have freedoms. We gave those to ourselves, after much loss of life, and then we embraced all those who sought the same freedoms we coveted. And we are now failures in our own creation and foundation.

We don’t embrace, we exorcise, we quarter off, we segregate, we vilify. EVERYONE.

The Super Bowl brought this up front and center again. Men and women, came out in force to complain and moan about Bad Bunny, because he was Hispanic, and was intending to sing in another language, other than our sacred and beloved English. What is wrong with you people? There are millions of Americans that speak Spanish, primarily.

I think the ones that rise to the bigotry platform, should get out more. They need to travel anywhere that is not their own back yard. They need to expand their little small town mentalities and I’ll tell you why. It’s immature and egotistical, but most of all it is repulsive to many of us and to the rest of the world.

Do any of the gripers realize that the entirety of the world speaks English as a second language? And not just English, but most people in other countries speak more than one language other than their own country’s. Progressive? NO

It is a very mature and natural response in most intelligent people to need to understand other people, that they may come across. In understanding people, you understand other cultures, which helps you understand society and the global dynamic.

There is not one single person alive anywhere that does not trace back to another country or peoples. If you believe the biblical account of life, Adam and Eve were foreigners to the world, period. Not only because they had never been in the world, but because after their outing from the Garden of Eden, they were foreigners in the land they then were made to exist in. Period.

If you don’t follow the biblical account, then know this, everyone came from somewhere. And the somewhere was different than where they later wound up and would wind up in future generations. Again. Period.

This means that there is no one that can brag about purity of nationality or citizenship. If memory serves, the last time that kind of exclusivity was embraced or forced, led to a big fight. One that took millions of lives across the globe. That mentality is the same as Adolf’s, the one that canoodles that only the pure belong. Let me tell you, no one is pure anything.

The fact that we, as Americans, don’t learn or refuse to learn other languages, speaks to our narcissism. We absolutely should and must. It’s like cursive. If you don’t learn it and cannot read it, then how will you protect and defend our nation’s most prized document and ideals. You won’t be able to read it. It is essentially a foreign language. There was a time, when only the church was permitted to read and write. That led to, guess what? Misunderstanding of a faith, vile misuse of religion, and the horrors of tyranny. Languages are the same thing.

If you can’t speak a language, you are dependent on an interpreter. That interpreter can tell you anything they want to tell you about what is being written or spoken. You won’t know the difference. You will be very easily lead astray or worse. How would you know if what is told you is happening is being translated correctly or wrongly? You won’t.

I am only focusing on language and nationality for this article’s sake. I don’t have a week to go over each of the examples I named, and I know the average attention span is small. So let me say a couple things and ask that you ponder them deeply. Who are you as a human?

I was born and raised here in our country. I am an American, born in New York, one of the first cities in our nation. Should I be arrogant about that? No way. It is just a city, not a holy relic.

I was born to immigrants, my father being from Argentina, and my mother from Germany. Both sides of my parentage were multi-generations of ancestors in those countries. Guess what, they came here, began lives and families, learned the language and were educated here. I don’t have an issue with learning the language, of the nation you live in. I do have an issue with it being forced. We are free and have liberty to live, worship, express ourselves as we see fit. With the exception of injuring others with, said freedoms, we all have them. Not just natural citizens, but all who come here. It is the premise of our nation, our founders, our existence as a nation.

Bad Bunny is an AMERICAN, ignorant people. Puerto Rico, IS America. It is a territory of the United States, making it part of us. It makes them, us! The fact that they speak a different language, speaks to the very diverse nation we live in. They speak English. They are united in and with our states. Can you speak Spanish? It’s part of our country. It’s what that part of our country speaks. Don’t you HAVE to speak the language of our country? By the intolerant bigots argument, then yes you should and must learn Spanish. Bad Bunny, or whatever his real name is, is an American. You liking it or not is irrelevant.

He comes from one of the most beautiful states in our nation. Our people, there (yes OUR), are beautiful, kind, generous and just like us on the continental side. There’s no difference. They have amazing cuisine, history and natural beauty. Oh there’s one exception, they have the decency to speak English and still maintain and respect their heritage with Spanish. It is a beautiful thing to celebrate your heritage. Truly. It keeps us remembering who we are, where we came from, how beautifully diverse we all are, and how very small our planet is.

Bunny should have been celebrated. For once, we included that part of our nation, in a national event. It was about time. He performed with grace. He did not show private parts, or sit there using expletives. He kept it clean. He had other talent there of mixed heritages as well, and gave one of the best, if not the best half time show of all time. It told a story, it entertained, and it taught something about our fellow Americans. Did anyone pay attention to that?

Incidentally, other half time talents were not “American”. Rihanna is not an American at all, but a citizen of Barbados, and yet no one made a stink about her doing the Super Bowl half time. What about Paul McCartney? Also NOT American. So the bigoted arguments fail, right there.

Look, I am an American. I am proud to be such. But I am not so ignorant or arrogant to believe everyone should speak my language. I know, accept and feel, that I should learn as many as I can, so I can appreciate and fully enjoy the diversity of the world. I speak two languages fluently, I know five languages, and I am still learning a couple others, as we speak. Do you know what that does?

It teaches me something. Really, a great many things. I get to know people when I can speak their language. They embrace me, when they see I have taken the time to learn who they are and how to speak with them in their native tongue. I learn about their culture. Language is an excellent way to learn about other cultures. Do you know that Spanish has many different variations? Each country speaks it a little different. Different words, sayings, slang. Think British, Australian, and American English, all the same, yet all different. Same thing. There it is, the word, “SAME”. Same.

We are all the same. Not just we, Americans, but we, humans. We all love, live and struggle with the same issues. Trust me, love, fear, anxiety, infidelity, joy, are all the same in Spanish, Italian, German and every language. No difference. Every experience is a human one, not a national one. Every language is a human language. Learn them, or at least some. Expand your understanding and tolerance of other peoples. The effects of that are many, but to name a couple; YOU learn about other people, YOU grow culturally, YOU become self aware, and aware of just how small and large our world is, YOU become more tolerant and more patient with others, and YOU gain pride in being open and accepting of other people and their varied nationalities.

On the other side of that coin is, an appreciation that YOU have taken time to be part of others, to be accepting that we are not, the end all, be all king of the planet, and most importantly, respect for YOU/us, as a person/people. YOU, show, that we are not arrogant, but humble and embracing. (Notice WHO needs to act, and who gets to reap rewards, ‘YOU’)

Collectively, we all become more understanding and empathetic with each other, we accentuate world relations, and you make new friendships with beautiful people in places you cannot or have never imagined.

If you do this, embrace knowledge and the spirit of our foundation, you will see the results in the way you think about and see things. You can choose to ignore it and elect to not open your hearts and minds, because it is within your freedoms, but if you do choose to continue your bigotry, please keep the pie hole shut for the rest of the country’s sake. And for Pete’s sake don’t poison your children’s minds and souls with your narrow views. Let them pick for themselves, how they want to live out their humanity.

If you saw a bigoted comment and everyone around you was cheering it on, would you say something, or would you join the crowd?

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