SMART Talk...Conversations That Matter
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
Martin Luther King Jr.
I was watching the Olympics this week, and something odd struck me. Every commentator was waxing poetically about our humanity and how the games bring out the best in us. There was even a tribute to our World War II heroes who, more than eighty years ago on June 6, 1944, along with our allies, launched the long-anticipated invasion of Normandy, France. Soldiers from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations faced Hitler's formidable Atlantic Wall as they landed on the beaches of Normandy.
I thought about that as I watched the images from today of little children dressed in uniforms from that era, both American and French, celebrating the liberation of France.
Yet, with all of that pageantry, how is it that we are eighty years beyond evil in this world and we are still finding it okay to accept the unacceptable?
For all that the Olympics do for our humanity by instilling the best in us, we allowed Hitler's Germany to participate. Today we still allow countries that have active human rights violations, wars, coup d'état, stolen elections, and trafficking in both drugs and people, to participate.
We, as humans, find ways to make the unacceptable acceptable. We turn a blind eye to poverty, to war, to war crimes. We turned a blind eye to behavior that led to slavery, concentration camps, the Trail of Tears and so much misfortune to others.
We use social media to have what we call discourse, yet it's our own distorted opinions, all the while destroying and hurting a young woman all because she was born different and is now competing on a world stage.
The unacceptable isn't your opinion about how someone else should live their life. No, the unacceptable is turning a blind eye to the hurt, the pain that is caused when you don't speak up and when you don't stand up.
We have come to accept what is unacceptable in our humanity.
And I don't know about you but to me...that is unacceptable.
The WEBB Advisory Group Presents
The WEBB Center for Social Impact was created and shaped by over 50 years of lived experience as a Black woman in America.
Focusing on domestic policy specifically, our institute provides a global worldview perspective for black and brown women from the diaspora living in America today. Â
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Using research data, lived experiences, and stories of impact, policymakers and leaders can understand the social impacts various policies have on black and brown children and women, today and tomorrow. Â
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In response to various incidents in our country's recent history, history mustn't repeat itself. Therefore, the WEBB Center For Social Impact strives to provide voter information, information on issues for policymakers, information for community activists, and information for anyone who seeks to understand the social impacts of public policy on individuals and communities.
Attention Bias
What is attention bias? Attention bias is our tendency to prioritize certain types of stimuli/information over others. At any given moment, an individual's senses can perceive countless stimuli in our immediate surroundings. Threat-related attention bias refers to the tendency to prioritize the processing of threats over benign or neutral stimuli. Is it no wonder we have biases related to race, ethnicity, disability, and more?
Each of us individually generates more information than ever before in human history. We take in almost 90,000 pieces of information daily, yet our brains can only filter in about 10 percent of that information. The rest, well is stored in our subconscious minds and often when we perceive a threat we act upon it.
How do you perceive the world around you and how can you understand your attention bias?
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Prayer for the Week
Dear God,
Hear the deepest cries of our hearts. Turn our hearts so that your will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Grant us the peace that surpasses all understanding. Help us to understand that the only things that are unacceptable to you are our fear, hatred, judgment, and ungodliness towards one another. You do not care about our race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, or political party. What you find unacceptable is man's inhumanity towards man. Grant us the wisdom to see each other as you see us, through the eyes of love. Amen.
"Inspiring Humans...Changing Communities."
"Smart Talk: Conversations That Matter... is a weekly blog post. We welcome the voices of all people. Are you interested in writing for us? Let us know.
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