Can We Change Our Society?

We recently received a forwarded message that we felt was worthy of sharing with you. It’s about society and culture and how our values and ideals are formed. Amazingly, this arrived at a time when we were putting together a piece on the various ills in our society, our infinite “isms.” Racism, sexism, ageism, casteism, classism . . . the list goes on. “Ism” impact our lives by providing us with stereotypes that aid in perpetuating hatred. These stereotypes result in prejudices that we hold against either individuals or groups. In fact, stereotypes tend to over shadow our logic by providing preconceived notions about people that we don’t know. These prejudices are general negative by nature, but since these are learned behaviors they can be unlearned. The vital fact is that nobody is born prejudiced! Prejudices are attitudes that we gain from our surroundings, whether it be at home, school or work, and for the most part we can not justify them with any legimate reasoning. Nevertheless, if left unchallenged these ideals can go out of control and foster into hatred and violence. The mail below seems to illustrate how such prejudices can come about:

“Start with a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a string and put stairs under it. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the apes with cold water. After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result – all the apes are sprayed with cold water. Turn off the cold water. If, later, another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays them.

Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace him with a new one. The New ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other apes attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous Newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm. Again, replace a third original ape with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest ape.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? “Because that’s the way it’s always been around here.”

This analogy is very powerful in beginning to understand how truly our minds behave. We take so much for granted. Accepting customs, values and traditions without questioning or objecting to them. We truly behave in the manner similar to that displayed by the apes, merely creating a society that compiles because of what “others” do. Knowing the value of knowledge and questioning, many of us – even the most educated and rebellious – continue to fall prey to the act of stereotyping and generalizing. Even worse, because we accept these values without questioning we, in turn, pass them on from one generation to the next. This behavioral pattern aids in fueling discrimination, bigotry and hate. Nevertheless, as stated earlier these are behaviors that can be unlearned through such avenues as education and the simple act of interaction.

Culture evolves over time and customs can and are changed. We have seen through history how such customs that are intergrated into the very heart of our society have been altered. The end of slavery vividly depicts how we can change our societies for the better. Had it not been for such people as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony to name a few, slavery may have continued longer. These individuals represent those who are willing enough to question and challenge the existing norms. Often they embark upon a path loaded with thorns, but the fragrance of their hard work lingers with us for generations. We should realize that we all have the potential to change our environment, the question is what price are we willing to pay for it?