The \u2018Life<\/i> Dividends\u2019 of Equality and Excellence<\/h1>\nFinding Reasons to Set \u2018Differential Prejudices\u2019 Aside<\/H3><\/center> ![\"Adam](\"http:\/\/www.multiracial.com\/images\/columnists\/abraham.jpg\")
<\/p>\nby Adam Abraham<\/A><\/I>
November\/December 2003<\/h3>\n SACRAMENTO \u2013 My heart reaches out to all the people who lost their homes in the devastating fires of 2003 in Southern California, and to those who paid the ultimate price with their lives. With a move to the Sacramento area in September that now looks like the work of Providence, it is humbling to see how I was taken out of harms way, that I might experience life<\/i> in another way.<\/p>\n
While fires in California in late summer are certainly no surprise, it\u2019s safe to say that no one thought that the area would sustain a conflagration<\/i> of such magnitude. The area where I lived in San Diego was evacuated as the fires crept within one more \u201cSanta Ana leap\u201d of wiping out the entire neighborhood. Fortunately, for those that still call the area home, that leap never came.<\/p>\n
In the midst of such monumental calamity, however, we often find heart. We often find courage. We often find ignited, illumined spirits, and generous, compassionate souls. That is when the politics of difference, encompassing race, religion, and even politics itself, actually melt away, and temporal issues give way to timeless ones.<\/p>\n
When one\u2019s neighborhood, home, or life is threatened, the politics of the rescuer isn\u2019t important. The basest of racists \u2013 who reside in all<\/i> corners of the culture spectrum \u2013 are unlikely to turn away rescuers who happen to be members of the hated group. Strident homophobes are unlikely to turn back a brigade that brings relief because some of the members may be gay. This indicates that our prejudices are not really engraved in stone, as some would have us believe. It is evident that when a more practical and immediate purpose will be served, said prejudices can actually be set aside. Once set aside, the challenge is determining how to put them away for good. It\u2019s a dilemma that some people are still trying to figure out in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Getting back to California; can you imagine what it would have been like if the rescuers<\/i> checked each threatened citizen\u2019s race, religious, political, or ideological position before deciding whether to spray the water, offer shelter or food, or administer other assistance? The devastation would have been far greater. Many more acres, lives and homes would have been lost. Indeed, the fires might even still be burning were it not for the merciful rains that eventually came.<\/p>\n
This begs the question. What reasons do we need to give ourselves to put our own \u201cdifferential prejudices\u201d aside, decide what is important, and treat others \u2013 all<\/i> \u201cothers\u201d \u2013 the way we want to be treated? When will equal treatment be transformed from an ideal to a reality because it\u2019s something that we<\/i> are living each day? If we<\/i> are treating each person that we encounter with equal regard and respect, then we take the lead in influencing<\/i> \u2013 though not controlling \u2013 how they<\/i> will treat us.<\/p>\n
Just because we treat someone else the way we want to be treated doesn\u2019t mean that they \u2013 or all<\/i> people who \u201clook\u201d like them \u2013 will necessarily reciprocate. If we can acknowledge that from the beginning, we won\u2019t indict an entire group when one member \u201clives down\u201d to a behavioral standard that we wouldn\u2019t show them. Avoid, defend, or otherwise deal with the substandard behavior, but remain true to your own.<\/p>\n
Setting a high behavioral standard benefits the standard setter, first<\/i> and always, whether the person who receives it reciprocates or not. Eventually, someone, indeed, many if not most people, will. <\/p>\n
Exercising, being, and presenting our very best \u2014 day in, and day out \u2014 creates more opportunities for actually experiencing<\/i> the best results than practicing \u201cselective excellence\u201d will ever do. Making excellence our full-time job will yield lifetime dividends.<\/p>\n
The sun doesn\u2019t turn itself off and on based on who it judges to be \u201cbad\u201d and \u201cgood.\u201d By the same token, gravity doesn\u2019t become less for some or more for others. In matters of excellence, these major forces of nature, that make the lives we live on earth even possible, should be our role models. Only through commitment and daily application sometimes in spite of the less than stellar responses of others, will our highest and best dreams be given what they need to become the \u201cactive\u201d reality in our lives.<\/p>\n
Adam Abraham is author of I Am My Body, NOT!<\/a><\/i> and A Freed Man: An Emancipation Proclamation<\/a><\/i> (Phaelos Books), and host and producer of An Equal America<\/i>. Mr. Abraham can be reached via email at adam@phaelos.com<\/a>, or through his web site, www.phaelos.com<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2003 Adam Abraham. All rights reserved.<\/font><\/small><\/small> <\/small><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u2018Life Dividends\u2019 of Equality and Excellence Finding Reasons to Set \u2018Differential Prejudices\u2019 Aside by Adam Abraham November\/December 2003<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tma-articles-and-commentary","tag-the-multiracial-activist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2001\/08\/Articles-and-Commentary.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p89tuq-4x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2780,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/2780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\nby Adam Abraham<\/A><\/I>
November\/December 2003<\/h3>\n SACRAMENTO \u2013 My heart reaches out to all the people who lost their homes in the devastating fires of 2003 in Southern California, and to those who paid the ultimate price with their lives. With a move to the Sacramento area in September that now looks like the work of Providence, it is humbling to see how I was taken out of harms way, that I might experience life<\/i> in another way.<\/p>\n
While fires in California in late summer are certainly no surprise, it\u2019s safe to say that no one thought that the area would sustain a conflagration<\/i> of such magnitude. The area where I lived in San Diego was evacuated as the fires crept within one more \u201cSanta Ana leap\u201d of wiping out the entire neighborhood. Fortunately, for those that still call the area home, that leap never came.<\/p>\n
In the midst of such monumental calamity, however, we often find heart. We often find courage. We often find ignited, illumined spirits, and generous, compassionate souls. That is when the politics of difference, encompassing race, religion, and even politics itself, actually melt away, and temporal issues give way to timeless ones.<\/p>\n
When one\u2019s neighborhood, home, or life is threatened, the politics of the rescuer isn\u2019t important. The basest of racists \u2013 who reside in all<\/i> corners of the culture spectrum \u2013 are unlikely to turn away rescuers who happen to be members of the hated group. Strident homophobes are unlikely to turn back a brigade that brings relief because some of the members may be gay. This indicates that our prejudices are not really engraved in stone, as some would have us believe. It is evident that when a more practical and immediate purpose will be served, said prejudices can actually be set aside. Once set aside, the challenge is determining how to put them away for good. It\u2019s a dilemma that some people are still trying to figure out in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Getting back to California; can you imagine what it would have been like if the rescuers<\/i> checked each threatened citizen\u2019s race, religious, political, or ideological position before deciding whether to spray the water, offer shelter or food, or administer other assistance? The devastation would have been far greater. Many more acres, lives and homes would have been lost. Indeed, the fires might even still be burning were it not for the merciful rains that eventually came.<\/p>\n
This begs the question. What reasons do we need to give ourselves to put our own \u201cdifferential prejudices\u201d aside, decide what is important, and treat others \u2013 all<\/i> \u201cothers\u201d \u2013 the way we want to be treated? When will equal treatment be transformed from an ideal to a reality because it\u2019s something that we<\/i> are living each day? If we<\/i> are treating each person that we encounter with equal regard and respect, then we take the lead in influencing<\/i> \u2013 though not controlling \u2013 how they<\/i> will treat us.<\/p>\n
Just because we treat someone else the way we want to be treated doesn\u2019t mean that they \u2013 or all<\/i> people who \u201clook\u201d like them \u2013 will necessarily reciprocate. If we can acknowledge that from the beginning, we won\u2019t indict an entire group when one member \u201clives down\u201d to a behavioral standard that we wouldn\u2019t show them. Avoid, defend, or otherwise deal with the substandard behavior, but remain true to your own.<\/p>\n
Setting a high behavioral standard benefits the standard setter, first<\/i> and always, whether the person who receives it reciprocates or not. Eventually, someone, indeed, many if not most people, will. <\/p>\n
Exercising, being, and presenting our very best \u2014 day in, and day out \u2014 creates more opportunities for actually experiencing<\/i> the best results than practicing \u201cselective excellence\u201d will ever do. Making excellence our full-time job will yield lifetime dividends.<\/p>\n
The sun doesn\u2019t turn itself off and on based on who it judges to be \u201cbad\u201d and \u201cgood.\u201d By the same token, gravity doesn\u2019t become less for some or more for others. In matters of excellence, these major forces of nature, that make the lives we live on earth even possible, should be our role models. Only through commitment and daily application sometimes in spite of the less than stellar responses of others, will our highest and best dreams be given what they need to become the \u201cactive\u201d reality in our lives.<\/p>\n
Adam Abraham is author of I Am My Body, NOT!<\/a><\/i> and A Freed Man: An Emancipation Proclamation<\/a><\/i> (Phaelos Books), and host and producer of An Equal America<\/i>. Mr. Abraham can be reached via email at adam@phaelos.com<\/a>, or through his web site, www.phaelos.com<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2003 Adam Abraham. All rights reserved.<\/font><\/small><\/small> <\/small><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u2018Life Dividends\u2019 of Equality and Excellence Finding Reasons to Set \u2018Differential Prejudices\u2019 Aside by Adam Abraham November\/December 2003<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tma-articles-and-commentary","tag-the-multiracial-activist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2001\/08\/Articles-and-Commentary.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p89tuq-4x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2780,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/2780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2003 Adam Abraham. All rights reserved.<\/font><\/small><\/small> <\/small><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The \u2018Life Dividends\u2019 of Equality and Excellence Finding Reasons to Set \u2018Differential Prejudices\u2019 Aside by Adam Abraham November\/December 2003<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tma-articles-and-commentary","tag-the-multiracial-activist"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2001\/08\/Articles-and-Commentary.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p89tuq-4x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2780,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/2780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multiracial.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}