Wrong Conclusions.

Even though we know, through experience, that no two people are alike, we still fall into the trap of pigeonholing people.

The following errors are too familiar:

All the poor are either lazy or drug addicts.
All wealthy people are selfish crooks and con-men.
All liberals want the government to destroy our freedoms.
All conservatives want to destroy our government.
Every racial and ethnic group is limited to harsh stereotypes, and at odds with all the rest.
Every religious group but mine/ours is wrong. The more foreign they seem, the more threatening they are.
Atheists have no valid moral principles.
East Coast Americans are out-of-touch elitists pushing unwanted change.
Southern Americans are belligerent bigots trying to pull the nation backwards.
The police cannot be trusted.
The police can do no wrong.
Capitalism is the root of all evil.
The free market provides the answer to every problem.
All illegal immigrants are rapists and killers—the worst of the worst.

NONE of these statements are true. NOT ONE.

Most of us are smart enough to know that. Something has to shut down our sense of discernment in order to believe them—a settled habit of unquestioned prejudgment. Or, we purposely decide to turn our backs on truth and on loving our neighbor, which doesn’t speak well for who we are. To do that, we have to override conscience, our moral judgment of ourselves.

There is nothing to fear in opening our eyes and thinking for ourselves. Indeed, we have everything to gain. We become more authentic, more honest, more guilt-free and alive. Our culture and nation benefit as well.