Why Don’t We Practice What We Preach? Research Paper Example

Discrimination currently plagues the world, but it is important to consider that concept is not a new idea. Discrimination has been born out of the concept of natural biases that people develop from the understanding that not all individuals are like them. As a consequence of these observations, some people develop a sense of supremacy towards others. When this sense of supremacy is illustrated in a manner that paints negative connotations against individuals or groups of people on the basis of their gender, skin color, religion, socioeconomic status, and more, these concepts are more likely to be perpetuated by society, preserving these ideas. According to researchers, this is how discrimination began (Abram, 1962). It has been present throughout history and becomes prevalent when individuals with different cultures meet and are unable to immediately assimilate. As a result, it could be said that discrimination is a direct consequence of misunderstanding, which is not readily avoided because it is challenging to understand new people. Because of the frustration that occasionally develops as a consequence of the need to evaluate others in the context of our own society, these ethnocentric views give birth to discrimination, prejudice, and racism.

Discrimination is a learned behavior (Bobo & Fox, 2003). Once discriminatory observations have been made, they are perpetuated by teaching these ideas to others. The most significant consequence of prejudice and racism is seen when it is taught to children, who represent the future generations. Because these individuals grow up with the sense that discrimination is appropriate, it is impossible for them to become aware of the ethical conflict that these beliefs present (Plant & Divine, 2009). Thus, they ascertain that their discriminatory and prejudiced ideas are correct. While technically, they cannot be held at fault because they were subject to misinformation during pivotal points of their development, it is apparent that there is a need to address the symptoms of discrimination at the societal level. Because discrimination has been taught for a long period of time, there are already structures in place in society that systematically target certain groups. Thus, people use these pre-existing biases to justify their hate and negative beliefs when events occur that appear to reinforce these ideas, even though these events represent a minority of situations involving the group rather than a majority.

Historically, there has always been a group of people in the United States that have been a target of racism. Prior to the Civil War, many Americans believed that individuals with black skin were less than human and therefore deserving of being subject to slavery. Slave traders that invaded African and Caribbean territory to acquire slaves did not regard the feelings of these people because they believed that Africans were “savages” and that they were doing them a favor by bringing them to the United States to civilize them (Rudman et al., 2001). It is important to consider that this historic discrimination against people with black skin continues today. Because of this initial racism, black individuals living in America still do not have access to many of the resources that their white counterparts do. Thus, they continue to face systematic discrimination in the form of income and education, which forces them to remain at their current social standing in the country (Sinclair & Kunda, 1999).

While prejudice against black Americans is one of the most frequently observed problem in the United States and in the Western world, it is important to consider that groups have been harmed as a consequence of their religion as well. The Jewish people have faced discrimination both historically and in the context of the modern era because their culture was not well understood (Norris & Inglehart, 2004). During World War II, under the instruction of Adolf Hitler, millions of Jewish people were put to death because the vast majority of Germans in power were made to believe that the Jewish residents in Germany were at fault for the poor economic standing of the country following World War I. Because these individuals acted as the scapegoat, they were put to death and their suffering continues today at the hands of people that still place blame on them for the conditions leading to World War II. Because the religious practices of the majority at the time reflected Christian values, it was challenging for people to determine for their own that Jewish religious beliefs had nothing to do with the status of Germany. However, because these anti-Semitic beliefs were taught over several generations, these prejudices were held as truths by the German people (Saraglou et al., 2004).

Most recently, it has become apparent that sentiments against Arabs and Muslims have become more common. In particular, this has been true following the September 11^th terrorist attacks. Following these crimes, there was a sense that Arabs were to blame for the attacks, even though they were orchestrated by a small group known as Al-Qaeda. As a consequence of this racism, individuals with brown skin and turbans are constantly searched at the airport to determine if they are carrying weapons or are likely to contribute to further attacks. However, many families live in fear due to the societal belief that all Arabs or Muslims are incentivized to hurt American citizens. This is especially damaging to the Arab or Muslim American citizens of the United States. They are being systematically accused of terrorism, when their only allegiance is to their current country of residence.

The general distrust towards Muslims is continuing to grow. Following terrorist attacks that were conducted by a Muslim individual, there is always comprehensive discussion with regards to how Muslim terrorist groups should be put to a stop. These terrorist groups are constantly emphasized on the basis of their religion. Not only is there not a realistic response to such attacks at the local level, it is also important to consider that the same types of attacks performed by white terrorists do not get the same amount of press time. An equally short amount of press time is given to report violent attacks against Muslims and Arabs on the basis of their skin color, so a distortion of the importance of this problem is created.

Social bias is an apparent problem in the United States because it contributes to the general perception of racial and religious groups in the country (Keene, 2011). Most people believe that their particular group is the best, and this becomes problematic when the majority is unwilling to respect the rights of the minority. These biases exist primarily because people do not understand the groups that they claim to dislike. While this was at first true of the African Americans and Jewish people, the world has come to understand these cultures and beliefs more readily, so there has been a decreasing amount of hate exhibited towards these groups over time. Likewise, in America, Christians are the majority, so little bias is exhibited against them in a manner that is as extreme as the prejudice against the minority groups. The current prejudice observed against Muslims can be understood on the basis of their “newness” to this country. For one of the first times in history, Arabs and Muslims have immigrated to the United States in large numbers. Since they are considered to be the most recent immigrant group, the American people generally have the least familiarity with their lifestyles and traditions. Thus, they are currently at the crux of this hatred, even though this hatred is not justifiable. One of the most reasonable ways to reverse the hatred towards these individuals, therefore, would be to educate the American public and encourage them to develop a more comprehensive cultural understanding of the diverse peoples that inhabit their communities (Keene, 2011).

A vast majority of people would agree that the purpose of religion is to bring peace to all members of a society. However, it is apparent that most of us do not practice what we preach, which becomes obvious when individuals claiming to be religious act in favor of policies and actions that have negative impacts on the well-being of Muslims and Arabs (Hall et al., 2010). By focusing more on what we know to be right than our internal biases, we have the potential to do what is right for the hundreds of thousands of innocent individuals that are negatively impacted by wide held biases against them. Studies have shown that when individuals identify with groups that are not considered religious, such as atheism, people are less likely to hold biased conceptions against other groups, such as Muslims (Ysseldyk et al., 2011). This demonstrates that it is important to fundamentally change the way that people think about other groups. If we do not hold our religious or personal beliefs above the value of others, then we are less likely to form hateful opinions towards these groups.

Overall, studies have shown that discrimination appears to be a natural part of human society. In the United States, it is a particularly prevalent phenomenon because people with many diverse backgrounds and beliefs and living within close proximity of one another. America’s past has revealed that different groups are discriminated against. Furthermore, these beliefs are taught to future generations, which perpetuates these understandings in society. It is necessary to put an end to racism and prejudice, but the best way to do so is by making people more aware of the cultures and beliefs of others. When we cease viewing people are different from us, we will be better able to provide one another with necessary support to make the United States of America an even greater place to live. The literature revealed that there is a need to continue developing our understanding of the relationship between discrimination and current events. Since international relations with Muslim and Arab countries are becoming more tense, it will be important to determine how to separate our views about these countries from the perceptions of people from these countries that have fled their nations of birth to live freely in America.

There is a need to focus on current attitudes towards Muslims and Arabs because there is a lack of information specifically pertaining to the cultural understanding of these groups. Since they are considered to be one of the newest and most prevalent immigrant groups in the past several decades, it is necessary to determine how Americans can peacefully co-exist with these individuals. The literature indicated that this could be accomplished by creating programs to achieve a more comprehensive cultural understanding of these individuals, but it is necessary to determine how this could be put in place in an effective and structurally relevant manner. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to determine why systematic discrimination exists against American Muslims and Arabs. It is apparent that the surface reason for such prejudice is the fact that Muslim and Arab groups have been responsible for many terrorist attacks since the initial September 11^th scare. By evaluating how the Muslim people could be removed from bearing the blame regarding these attacks, it will become more reasonable for sociologists and psychologists to determine ways to promote the equality of diverse peoples living in American society. While the United States of America is considered to be the great melting pot, an area in which people from diverse cultures and races come to live in freedom and harmony, there is much work that needs to be done to ensure that America is able to meet this grand expectation. Understanding the relationship between terrorist events initiated by Muslim groups and the perceptions of Muslims in America still warrants a more concise understanding so that steps could be taken to resolve this problem.

References

Abram, A. (1962). Frustrative nonreward in partial reinforcement and discrimination learning: Some recent history and a theoretical extension. Psychological Review, 69(4): 306-32.

Bobo, L.D., & Fox, C. (2003). Race, Racism, and Discrimination: Bridging Problems, Methods, and Theory in Social Psychological Research. Social Psychology Quarterly, 66(6): 319-332.

Hall, D.L., Matz, D.C., Wood, W. (2009). Why Don’t We Practice What We Preach? A Meta-   Analytic Review of Religious Racism. Pers Soc Psychol Rev, 14: 126.

Keene, S. (2011). Social Bias: Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination. The Journal of Law Enforcement, 1(3).

Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. (2004). Sacred and secular: Religion and politics worldwide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Plant, E., & Devine, P. (2009). The active control of prejudice: Unpacking the intentions guiding control efforts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(3): 640-652.

Rudman, L., Ashmore, R., & Gary, M. (2001). “Unlearning” automatic biases: The malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(5), 856-868.

Saroglou, V., Delpierre, V., & Dernelle, R. (2004). Values and religiosity: A meta-analysis of studies using Schwartz’s model. Personality and Individual Differences, 37: 721-734.

Sinclair, L., & Kunda, Z. (1999). Reactions to a black professional: Motivated inhibition and activation of conflicting stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(5): 885-904.

Ysseldyk, R., Haslam, A., Matheson, K., Anisman, H. (2011). Love thine enemy? Evidence that (ir)religious identification can promote outgroup tolerance under threat. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 15(1): 105–117.