Racism: Do Humans Have the Ability to Change?

Everyone can agree that racism is still existent in today’s culture. This occurrence was predicted far in advance by politicians during the time of slavery. In his “Notes on the State of Virginia” Jefferson mentions that the slaves cannot be integrated into American culture because prejudices would create lasting separation. Abraham Lincoln states something quite similar, saying that there is an underlying feeling which would prevent the equalization of slaves from being correct in the minds of the white Americans. Though discrimination has been combated over many generations by many different people, it still exists today, causing us to question the human capacity to change. Are we actually able to renovate the way we think and will this impede on further progression of society? I argue that our ability to change is limited, but existent.  When presented with a culture we have preexisting ideas about, we see it as what we thought it would be like. This is shown through Mary Rowlandson’s descriptions of the Native Americans as savage beasts, and her constantly covering up their good deeds with what they have done wrong, thus fitting them to how they were stereotypically imagined. Thoughts like this cause the stereotyped to be forced to conform to how others see them and hence further the cultural divide. Once caught in this cycle, it is difficult for those doing the stereotyping to change views about said culture. However, if one stops stereotyping, thoughts can slowly shift toward equality. In application to slavery and racism, Jefferson and Lincoln were incorrect in saying that integration was impossible. While prejudice is not yet a thing of the past, we have made progress and are trending toward a brighter future. Overall, our healing of discrimination speaks for a slight human capacity for change, despite the gloomy predictions of some early politicians.