No Need to Worry About Being Replaced

A lot of people who spew hate are concerned with being replaced. They make it their mission to prevent “others” from being acknowledged and accepted because of their fear that they will no longer matter, they will no longer be relevant. But why is this? Why must there be a divide between different types of people at all? The beauty of America is that a country can easily succeed by accepting all types of people, from all types of cultures, and all types of religions. America has always been a melting pot, and although we don’t always live up to our ideals, at least we were founded on the notion that we should try.

People have throughout history divided themselves into similar groups. We make distinctions based on shared senses of culture, race, history, religion, ideals, morals, ethics, etc. There was this idea that we had to stick with our own group to succeed and that other groups were at best inferior or at worst enemies. Yet, most groups view themselves using this lens, causing inevitable dissonance: how can every group be superior? So then the distinction transforms into the majority or the group currently in charge as being the superior group: the only group capable of leading and maintaining a perfect society. However, over time other groups begin to assert their ideas and desires. If the majority group is in decline, then there is a fear that they will eventually be replaced. They will lose their power to lead and determine the course society should take to the groups they view as inferior. They vilify those in the minority groups, deciding that it is better to sow hatred and violence towards “others” instead of focusing on actually leading and making society better for everyone. An inclusive society creates more ideas, opportunities, progress with all groups working together to achieve the same goals than one mired in hate and division which solely focuses its energy on inhibiting certain groups from participating. Thus, as hatred grows, society diminishes, and eventually everyone loses, including those in charge.

The biggest problem with separating ourselves into different groups is that we forget that most of us actually have more in common than not. Yes, we might believe in different Gods, or celebrate different holidays, or enjoy different food, but at our core we all want the same things. We desire to be happy and fulfilled, to have minimal stress, to be independent and free, in essence to just enjoy living our lives. And in order to achieve these desires the majority of us want a society based on rules: laws designed to keep everyone safe, to keep society fair, to keep from falling into chaos. As much as we love our freedom, we also love our ability to function in a society that isn’t the wild west. Who wants to live in constant fear of having your property stolen or your life imprisoned? Nobody. If we begin to view ourselves, not as strangers with different goals, but as people all wanting the same general things, then we realize that there is no need to fear being replaced.  Instead we can focus on how to make society even better; to ensure that our laws are created with the goal that it doesn’t matter who is in charge, we will all be treated fairly and equally.

So this concern about being replaced, this fear that you will no longer have the power to lead society, is unnecessary. We should all be able to trust our leaders to continue building an equal society that enables everyone to succeed. If we can’t trust our leaders, then we should demand better leaders, not ones seeking to divide us. As long as the goal is to always be fair and just, then there should be no fear about how a different culture, race, religion might impact our rights as citizens, instead it should be accepted that whoever is in charge will do what is best for everyone. America has always had the unique ability to show the world that you can have a country based on ideals, a country that can protect and allow everyone to succeed no matter who you are or where you came from.