From Wikipedia:
Xenophobia is the fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.
Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an in-group towards an out-group, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.
Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality".
The terms xenophobia and racism are sometimes confused and used interchangeably because people who share a national origin may also belong to the same race.
Due to this, xenophobia is usually distinguished by opposition to foreign culture. Xenophobia is a political term and not a recognized medicalphobia.
~ Evolving into a Universal Humanity & the Affront to Xenophobia ~
If there is what could be considered an evolution of mankind it is certainly lead by what we would consider to be initially evolving individuals.
Where are you? Where would you consider yourself to be in the emerging evolution into a international, world-wide emergence into a universal humanity?
Love Jeremy Rifkin’s 10 minute video titled, The Empathic Civilization.
Within that amazing video Rifkin plots the evolution of man as it relates to the parallel seeming evolution of communication.
Although the video is nearly seven years old his grasp of evolutionary biology, neuro-cognitive science, human nature, and child development research still remains pertinent.
What really impressed me is his recognition of mirror-neurons and how these somewhat universal neurons are soft-wired to link us to a universal empathy, not only between humans but directly connecting us to other evolved mammals.
This recognition allows us to experience another’s plight as if we are experiencing it ourselves.
This scientific exploration suggests that we are soft-wired not for aggression, violence, self-interest, and utilitarianism but we are actually soft-wired for sociability, attachment, affection, and companionship; Empathy.
The empathic drive and a deep desire to belong.
Jeremy Rifkin also points to the development of selfhood and it’s correlation to an individual’s empathic development. In short, an increase in selfhood heralds an increase in empathetic development.
Individual empathetic development, an individual’s evolutional development, may be expressed by an individual’s width, depth, and ability to feel another’s struggle.
Essentially, To empathize is to civilize, to civilize is to empathize.
In short, advances in technology has allowed mankind to virtually eliminate time and space when it comes to communication between individuals anywhere throughout the world.
Mankind has gone from association to his immediate family and tribe within shouting distance, to association by religion, to association by country, to primary association to multi-national corporations, to finally an association, by some evolved beings, in a universal humanity. ALL happening within an extremely short period of time in the overall history of mankind.
Which brings us right up to today…
The Brexit movement in the United Kingdom may signal a temporary set-back for some Eastern European countries in the overall evolution of man in that part of the world. Where people look back and falsely believe that things were actually, better back then. It’s a false hope.
While in the United States, at this moment, the Alt-right movement seems to be recognized for what it is; A statement of a certain portion of the population in stasis. A snapshot of de-evolving mindsets.
America may continue to be the moral leader of the world by continuing on the political and ethical trajectory that we have formulated for the past thirty years. Or, the country will fall prey to attacking the non-existent windmills that the alt-right mindset has created.
America and the world will know for sure on November 8, 2016.
Mankind is facing the most difficult yet most important test of our shared being. This test is played-out within each of us individually.
Where are you?
Do you fear the others more than you are excited about the promise of civility? The touch of empathy?
What is your deepest meme? Fear or understanding?
Xenophobia or empathy?
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