Essay on Discrimination

It has become one of the most pressing problems in modern society. People frequently resort to it due to personal ignorance, certain social triggers, or societal delusions rooted in their own culture. What is this burning issue? The answer is simple: discrimination. It is our mind that makes us judge other people and compare them to ourselves or our own ideal of a human being. Given the magnitude of the problem, it is crucial to elucidate how discriminating misconceptions are formed in our mind and promulgated by the society. To combat discrimination, it is also necessary to understand the existing types of discrimination and their effects on people’s lives.

Discrimination is ubiquitous. We scrutinize other people and reach biased conclusions basing upon their social status, race, ethnic background, gender, behavior, and/or their specific points of view. It does not come as a surprise then that we are also judged by others according to the exact same criteria. Is this a typical model of human’s behavior designed by Mother Nature or merely a set of stereotypes that are deliberately imposed by the society? I firmly believe that the second statement rings true, as the paramount reason why people start discriminating against others is that they look, think, and behave differently. As they do not belong to the same societal group, we start to have a feeling of their segregation or even a degree of unjustified superiority over them. More often than not, people are reluctant to accept the differences, because it is more convenient to exist in a world surrounded by the people sharing the same beliefs and values, skin color, and social status.

The ephemeral image of a perfect human being, however, is totally subjective as it involves our mental paradigm of expectations and requirements to others. Sadly, this appears to be a case of self-deception. Refusing to accept the fact that each and every individual is unique, we too deny our own uniqueness. Many utopian authors strived to depict the reality in which all people looked, communicated, and acted in a standardized manner and any deviation from it was regarded as a crime. It raises the question as to whether these beings are still regarded as people or rather robots. Thus, it is crucial to respect the individuality of other people as well as our own regardless of the race and ethnicity, culture, religion, and social status, since all people are entitled to enjoy equal rights.

In conclusion, the issue of discrimination remains to be omnipresent in the contemporary society. While it definitely requires a great deal of time to realize its significance and potential negative repercussions for the entire mankind, it is not beyond the realms of possibility to eradicate the matter. Finding the most appropriate solution to the problem is thus a herculean task, but everyone without exception can make a tiny contribution and attempt to discern that all human beings are unique and that this diversity is what makes the world a more flamboyant and congenial place to live in.