A World Without Prejudice -When?

"I HAVE a dream."  Fifty years ago, on August 28, 1963, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., uttered those words in his most famous speech. Using that captivating refrain, King expressed his dream, or hope, that one day people would enjoy life free from racial prejudice. Though his aspirations were addressed to an audience in the United States, the essence of his dream has been embraced by people in many nations.

Three months after King's speech, on November 20, 1963, over 100 countries adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.  Other global initiatives were adopted in the decades that followed.  All such worthy efforts inevitably raise the question, What has been the result?

On March 21, 2012, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated:  "There are many valuable treaties and tools-as well as a comprehensive global framework -to prevent and eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.  Nevertheless, racism continues to cause suffering for mill ions of people around the world."

Even in lands where some progress had been made in combating racial and other forms of prejudice, the question remains:  Have the improvements really rooted out the deep-seated feelings of people or have the merely curbed the outward manifestation of those feelings?  Some believe that at best such improvements only help prevent discrimination but may be powerless at eliminating prejudice. Why so?  Because discrimination is an act that can be seen and punished by law, whereas prejudice is related to people's inner thoughts and emotions, which cannot be easily regulated. 

Therefore, any attempt to eliminate prejudice must not merely curb discriminatory acts but also change a person's thoughts and feelings toward people of another group. Can this really be done?  If so, how? Let us look into a number of real-life cases that will help us see not only that it is possible for people to make a change but also that there is something that can help them do so.  

Next time: A World Without Prejudice - When? -THE BIBLE HELPED THEM OVERCOME PREJUDICE

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