Right or Wrong? Are we different or the same?

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I grew up hearing, "You've seen one, you've seen them all" about people whose skin color or economic status is different from mine. I understand how that phrase is prejudicial. But now I hear politicians and preachers talk as if Anglos, Hispanics and African-Americans all are the same. Why do we have to generalize? How can we help people understand all of us are made in the image of God?

Scene from the film "Beneath the Skin."

The title for a video produced by the Baptist Center for Ethics, Beneath the Skin, came from a quote given by a mortician years ago. He observed: "I've worked on the bodies of people from every race. When you cut beneath the initial layer of skin, its all the same." The observation acknowledges the common humanity of all people. There is no rationale for any superiority based on skin color or skeletal profiles. Our bodies are similar in organs and profiles. Successful organ transplants happen across racial identities.

Our differences result from cultural socialization. People nurtured in similar cultural, racial or ethnic communities take on characteristics of that group as we imitate and resemble the models available to us. Children imitate their parents, siblings and adults who impress them. Even adults imitate other adults. That is the way it has been throughout human history. But access to other models through our technologies is changing our self-perceptions.

Right or Wrong?People from outside our focus groups present different behavioral models. We imitate. It is fascinating to be in China or Korea and see the young people dressing, singing and dancing similar to hip-hop artists in America. Electronic devices enable people in remote places to sing the same songs and use the same verbal expressions as the various groups in America. Violent movies from America are seen around the world. As we do here, other peoples also act out the violence.

Imitation without interpretation leads to complex presentations of the same genre. We can become caricatures of our aspirations. For example, we have a curious attraction to international accents. It is not hard to find imitators who also try to use certain accents to their advantage. A news analyst on a morning talk show faked a British accent to the point of nausea. The network took her off the air for a couple of weeks. When she returned, her fake accent was long gone.

To say, "When you have seen one, you've seen them all" can really only be said of our sinful nature. We all are in need of God's redemptive grace and Spirit. We all are redeemable through the atoning salvation of Jesus Christ. All need the same kind of inner motivation and fortitude for achieving wholeness. Our individuality is found in the ways we become open to the resources that God has provided.

Emmanuel McCall, retired pastor

Fellowship Group Baptist Church, East Point, Ga.

Right or Wrong? is co-sponsored by the Texas Baptist theological education office and Christian Life Commission. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to [email protected].


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