Building Bridges Across the 5 Dividing Lines
“Compassion can be put into practise if one recognizes the fact that every human being is a member of the human family regardless of differences in religion, colour, and creed. Deep down there is no difference. ”
The 5 Social Dividing Lines can be found in every country and culture, anywhere on this planet Earth. They run along the 5 following aspects:
+ Race & Ethnicity
The Dividing Line along race and ethnicity is prominent in practically every culture and every country around the globe. According to public statistics 203 out of 206 states that currently exist (as agreed upon by the UN) know minorities and groups of people who come from a different tribe/background and therefore don’t fit in whatever seems to be considered the socially accepted or dominant norm.
+ Religion & Faith
Issues of religion and faith have divided the world since the beginning. The obvious dividing lines run along the big religious groups such as Bahá'i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism (aka Ruism), Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, and other faiths. However, a deeper look reveals that each of these religious belief systems have various subcategories and denominations that might interpret their religion very differently. It is a myth that when it comes to questions of faith that we believe and act the same way even within one religion.
+ Wealth & Class
Every society knows rich and poor. We relate to people by the amount of money they spend, envy them or pity them. In most cases we don't know how the "other" half lives, but we assume. We generally stay amongst our peers with the same amount of money in the pockets. Society doesn't mix and mingle, the understanding for one another decreases as assumptions and judgements rise.
+ Gender
Gender is a well-known dividing line in every country. Whether or not you relate to your biological gender or have a different gender identity: there are rules, ideals, stigmas applied to every gender that create a bias of a person's capabilities. Does this define the whole personality?
+ Age and Other Bodily Features
Every society knows older and younger people. Every society knows different bodies: tall, small, thin, big – all of them abled in a different kind of way. However, we tend to be friends predominantly with those who are similar to us: our own age group, our own dress size. By natural selection we end up seeking those with whom we have most in common and thereby having only vague ideas about what matters to those who appear different from us.
Why it matters
We are missing out on all the richness diversity has to offer: different life experiences, fascinating viewpoints, a chance to make new friends. We are missing out on widening our understanding of each other and thereby miss out on creating a world in which everyone feels at home, can live their potential and contribute to humanity.
However, change doesn’t happen over night. It’s a process. In order to tackle the challenges of the 21st century we have to first acknowledge that we all share this planet.
COPY FOR CHANGE
Everywhere in the world people find solutions and work together to build bridges across the 5 Diving Lines. Using our collective force we can copy, adopt, transfer and adapt the solutions to our individual neighborhoods, cultures, and systems.