What humans can learn about interaction from our canine friends
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Most dogs accept another dog, regardless of breed, breeding, or color, as just simply another dog, and almost immediately want to make friends.
No matter what, humans seems to have had these “problems” and “hangup” for ever and day and time immemorial almost. Whether it was tribe or tribal group, color or religion, or whatever else, the discrimination seems to have been there.
To a dog the breeding and breed of another dog does not matter – though it does to the owner. The dog just simply sees another dog and another potential friend or mate.
Humans alone seem to have those serious hangups as to others; be it their breeding, their color, their race, their religion or even branch of religion, or whatever else. The animosity in Northern Ireland between Roman Catholics and Protestants is one prime example here to hangups even of people of the same basic religion, namely Christianity.
But this is not something – this animosity and prejudice – that we are born with. It is all something that we are taught by family and peers. We do not come preprogrammed with those hangups.
A group of 3-year-old white and colored kids in the sandbox are – in general - “colorblind” and any fights and arguments are not with regards to color or race or religion but over toys or the rules of play.
But, by the time they are five or six we often see that the attitudes have hardened and that they will say to a child of another color (or creed) that they cannot play with them and be their friend because of either color or religion. We know that only too well again from Ulster. I cannot play with you, a child will say, because you are Catholic.
It does not happen by itself. It is indoctrination. Those attitudes are taught and learned and in the same way they can be unlearned. The same is true also as regards to gender and gender orientation.
One can but wonder what the world would be like if no one would indoctrinate the children...
© 2012
