I notice that many people have us vs. them mentality. They feel their group is right, and the other group is wrong. This just doesn’t work.
Not only does it not work, but it also isn’t helpful or true. Let’s take for example religion. Many people feel their religion is true and other religions are false or even evil. Therefore they can treat people however they like because they are not human they are evil humans who deserve no respect. I hope you start to see the danger here. Some people might say “Well I have faith but I don’t treat others with disrespect.” That is great. However it is also true that religious figures have caused mass world destruction due to holy wars, and this continues to be a problem for many areas of the world. The risk is not gone because you have what you want. If you didn’t have what you wanted, you might be tempted to follow this religious thinking and hurt others for what you see as your god-given right.
We divide ourselves over the most ridiculous things. Every town has an east/west side mentality or a north/south divide. We further divide ourselves into neighborhoods and if you live in a neighborhood that someone else doesn’t approve of, you must be of questionable worth, intelligence, or social value. I remember when I shocked coworkers when they said that I lived in a bad part of Chicago. That is where my friends were and I didn’t have any issues. However, I was judged negatively based on where I lived when it meant nothing to who I was, or what I can do.
The divisions that people use are so arbitrary. We say that because someone is different from us in one aspect like generation, ethnicity, wealth, or intelligence that it means they aren’t good enough for us. We put ourselves in gated communities and expensive zip codes because we think we have earned it. The truth is that we mostly are projecting. We tell others that they aren’t good enough when inside we don’t feel good enough. We need the crutches of a fancy home, address, and life to feel that we are worthwhile.
We see this with the orange Cheeto. He wasn’t loved, so he tried to convince himself he was worthwhile by putting others down. This didn’t make him happy and it won’t make you happy either.