Pedigree


Does it matter? I would like to say no. I would like to say that people look at you as a person and nothing else. But that's not the case isn't it. Everywhere you go, just a passing mention of an affiliation can bring 10000 different words to mind. I think most of us know we shouldn't, but we do. It's hard, if not inevitable. What's important is we should not let this get in our way of knowing people for who they truly are. Pedigree/Heritage aside, we are fundamentally human with similar basic needs. I'll always remember what one of my '1st 3 months' classmate Josh Hiew said. "I want to be known as Joshua, the debater rather than The Debater, Joshua" or something along those lines. I guess we all want that as well. To be known for who we are before the affiliations come in, rather than letting the affiliations cloud who we are. Today, I read in the papers that a group of girls from Damascus consider Oprah a hero because she tried to explain Islam to Americans, to help alleviate the stereotypes. So try we must, because we should realise that essentially we are all the same.

It's something the world can hopefully learn.

Here's something from the Bard himself. As stated on wikipedia, I too believe it is indeed one of his most eloquent speeches ever written.

Shylock:

"Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,
warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer ...
If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that."

-Act III, scene I "Merchant of Venice"

Entry @ 11:57 PM; Saturday, August 04, 2007

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