Imagine

Imagine there is no such thing as race.

And no labelling too.

Imagine an inclusive society where you don’t even have to use words like white or black or Asian. A society where we treat each other, not by the color of our skin or how we look, but by our actions.

"I have a dream that my four small children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character," Martin Luther King Jr said during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963.

We’ve always defined "race" as a group of people who shared a set of fundamental qualities. This concept became obsolete in the postwar era. Racial categories had no scientific validity to them whatsoever, and ideas of racial inferiority and superiority became impossible to openly espouse after the Holocaust.

“Race” has always been used to categorise people into groups based on their physical appearance and it is a word that is always wrongly used.

Take Britain, for instance. Many popular conceptions of Britain are dominated by England - particularly southern England - and leave out many millions of people.

In Britain, you have English Jews, Welsh Europeans, Glaswegian Muslims, Pakistani Yorkshirewomen, and it is this diversity that provides Britain with significant advantages on the world stage.

People in the UK come from different backgrounds, but they share the same place and a common future. Everyone has a part to play in shaping Britain into an outward-looking, charitable, and inclusive society.

It is time we understood a truly multicultural society must quickly reinvent itself.

Such reinvention must, among other things, take into account the unavoidable developments of the last 30 years, including globalization, moral and cultural heterogeneity, and deeper engagement with the world.

The term "community" is a bit of a misnomer. All communities are evolving and dynamic, having internal divisions and conflicts. There are numerous overlaps, borrowings, and two-way impacts. No group is or can be completely isolated from the rest. We are all connected. We are all one species.

We also have to understand that race is not genetic. It is a phenomenon that has been shaped by culture. Over 150 years ago, slavery was abolished in the United States and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed half a century ago, but the race-as-genetics concept still persists today. It is time to toss it into the garbage can.

To be clear, of course, human biogenetic varieties exist, but this has nothing to do with the stifling concept of race. Genetic variation is an incredibly intricate consequence of evolution and we should and must not equate it with race.

I have always believed that taking a multicultural perspective and recognizing disparities between cultures will contribute to a richer and more inclusive society. Multiculturalism promotes diversity of thought and encourages people to connect with one another. Multiculturalism is an important aspect of American culture. In fact, cultural diversity is the hallmark of America. The US was built on the belief that all men are created equal and that people of many cultures and backgrounds may live peacefully together in a democratic and civilized way.

We still, however, hear about some instances of bias against ethnic minorities and how some people are distrustful of them. This could be related to past poor personal experiences, but it could also be due to some historical perspective.

The majority of these preconceptions towards ethnic minorities are unfounded, and multiculturalism can help in eliminating such preconceived notions in the long run. People will be far more willing to embrace diverse cultures when they get to know people of different ethnicities first-hand and talk to them regardless of what their skin colour is. They will also learn that there is nothing wrong with having different perspectives on life as long as we all live together peacefully. This will also be essential in breaking down irrational prejudices against different cultures that still exist in many parts of the world today.

I believe education is the key here. And, It all starts with children, teaching them how to be kind and more inclusive at an early age. We should help them in making it a part of who they are so that they reject any form of exclusion in society as they grow older.

Books teach kids so much more than just how to read. Words have power, a lot of power, and they can influence how we feel and think about things. They have the potential to broaden our horizons and develop an understanding of our differences.

So, it is not a bad idea to encourage kids to read stories with principles of compassion and acceptance. If your child is old enough, you can also ask them questions about the books and start a conversation about right and wrong.

Above all, we should praise children for being polite and inclusive because children thrive on praise. Encourage it by being positive! Don't only compliment them on their test results or their athletic abilities.

Kindness, in my opinion, is even more vital, so show it to them. Tell them 'Well Done' if they helped another child at school who was distressed, or made sure everyone was included in a school activity. Remind them of how the other children felt, and make them feel good about themselves for helping others.

I believe people will ultimately understand that the word race is just a justification to treat others as less equal. If there is such a thing as race, it is this. Our race is “human”. Plain and simple. We are all just people inhabiting a stunningly beautiful planet. That is how we should move on in 2022 instead of pandering to racists' foolish eugenic fantasies that there is a single soul on the planet of a different "race" to ourselves.

You may say I am a dreamer, but at least, I am not the only one.

As Carl Sagan once said, "The earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."