What Does Humanity Look Like? Part 1: Learning
Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
Last week I debated quite a bit about whether or not to share a poem that I had written in response to the death of George Floyd and so many other people of color in the United States.
Living near Minneapolis, his death felt like being at the epicenter of a tornado, and it took me days to form the words that eventually became a poem that I shared. Frankly, it was a bit scary to share the words because I was "putting myself out there" in a way that I hadn't before. It made me feel uncomfortable.
The responses were overwhelmingly positive and humbling. It helped reinforce a perspective that I believed to be true – we're all being asked to get uncomfortable right now discussing a difficult topic. That's why I decided to write a three-part series on the topic of humanity - outlining some of my insights and thoughts that I've been able to form over the past couple of weeks of talking, listening, reading, and learning from people around the world – because, make no mistake, while this is definitely an issue in the United States, it's also a global issue. I've heard some call it a pandemic of another sort. That description felt accurate to me.
Let me begin by saying that I'm only speaking my truth. I don't presume to have the ability to encapsulate the feelings, thoughts, and perspectives of every African American human being in the United States. And that's where I'll start – human beings. In March of 2018, Elizabeth Kolbert wrote an article on NationalGeographic.com titled; There's No Scientific Basis for Race – It's a Made Up Label. In it, she outlines the error in the thinking in the idea of there being separate races of human beings. She does an excellent job of describing the scientific evidence to support this. If you have the time, it's a great read. However, I want to focus on is the idea of humanity. If there aren't separate races, then what are we? The answer is human.
Even though we all have different skin colors, the truth is that we're all human. That brought me to the specific question that I've been asking myself these past two weeks – what does humanity look like?
A Google Search defines "Humanity" as "the human race; human beings collectively" or as "humaneness; benevolence." It's the second definition on which I wanted to spend some time today - humaneness. The violence seen in the US and around the world against people of color is the opposite of benevolence. It is using skin tone to knowingly or unknowingly form opinions around the value, intelligence, and worth of individuals based solely on that one aspect. In the strictest sense, it's like looking at someone's left leg and deciding that they are worthy of being treated better than another person based on how it looks. The logic seems ludicrous. I would argue it is. Humaneness, on the other hand, is looking at the person beyond their skin tone to the collection of thoughts, emotions, actions, words, perspectives, and items that add up to the character of that person and weighing that versus their appearance. And, as none of us is omniscient, it's also realizing that it takes time to get to know someone. You have to want to learn more about him or her.
Speaking of learning, my father stressed the importance of it early in my life. While sitting around the kitchen table growing up, my dad would toss out words for us to tell him the definition to. If we didn't know, we needed to open the dictionary, find the meaning, and read it aloud. Other times, if we had a strong opinion on a particular topic, he would ask us to "back it up" – to share the reasons we believed what we believed. Often, we needed to do additional research. You see, my father was an attorney, so simply arguing our opinion wasn't enough; he required facts as well. He was teaching us how to learn. He was teaching us how to think for ourselves.
It has been a lesson that I have carried with me all of my life. What I realized was that in order to grow, I had to be willing to learn. But today, it seems that the willingness to learn is not encouraged. When I see news segments, debates, and talk shows today, I'm surprised at how many people spout opinion as fact - each side simply arguing their point of view. If there are facts, they are usually presented in a one-sided fashion versus a holistic view. This type of debate is far from learning or growing.
The topics on which the points of view are critical topics as well to humans. They are topics concerning basics needs - food, shelter, and support needed to live a decent life. There is a common phrase in sports, "A team is only strong as its weakest link." I've seen it play out as a basketball coach. There are crucial moments in the game where your top players are tired, hurt, or in foul trouble, and players on the bench need to come into the game. If those players haven't been practicing hard or preparing for this moment, the impact on the team in that game can be devastating. In the game of life, in order for us all to rise, humaneness requires that we look after those who have less.
Actions and policies meant to better those with less or who have been systemically discriminated against (e.g., welfare, Affirmative Action, and affordable healthcare) are being treated as political punching bags instead of the betterment of humans. They are being called the "left" or "right" agenda. In essence, we are now politicizing humanity.
I will certainly not lecture anyone on what they should or should not believe when it comes to faith, politics, policies, etc. But, I do encourage people to learn more about one another.
It is in that learning that we will find our humanity.
Ha-Keem Abdel-Khaliq
