Can we please stop focusing on superficial traits?

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

One of the greatest men in the 20th century is more than likely, if one believes in an afterlife, looking down on our society and weeping. He was a leader that understood people should judge others not by what they looked like but by their actions and how they treated others. According to a Google search on the word “character”, one should, according to this man, be judged on the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Hmmm… Let’s take another look at that definition:

“character: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”

And yet, in today’s world, that seems to have been lost. People aren’t being judged by their character. They are instead being judged by the color of their skin, who they date and/or sleep with, and whether they are considered privileged. Nothing about how they treat others or what individual traits they may have regarding their mental and moral qualities is used in these judgments. No, instead a person is judged on the color of their skin and then held accountable for things that have happened in the past, and when I say past, I’m talking a minimum of decades ago, if not hundreds of years ago.

Are there people out there that believe they are superior based on something as superficial as the amount of melanin their skin possesses? Yes, but the harsh truth is there will always be people like that. I simply attempt to not associate with people like that, and call them on they’re actions if I see someone being treated unfairly. I do realize other people may not act this way, but maybe it’s time we start.

Recently the news has been frantic over alleged systemic oppression and how white privilege is rampant. This is a bait tactic. This is designed to keep us divided. Take a recent “transgression” of posting signs around the country with the phrase “It’s okay to be white”(links below). Now, substitute “white” for any other race, religion, sexuality, or any other group you can think of. If the phrase is okay for all of those other groups, why is it all of a sudden not okay for “white”? Have we really divided ourselves so much that ONE group of people, regardless of what the individuals have done, needs to be demonized? Have we really regressed so far backwards that now we are stating skin color is everything?

I will continue to judge people on how their actions instead of something so superficial as the color of their skin or their bed partner. Treat others the way you want to be treated is still a great way to behave, and I sincerely hope more people start doing that instead of focusing on things that, in the end, really don't matter since we all end up as worm food anyway.