For as long as I can remember, I have always challenged and questioned why certain people will never be seen as equal as their neighbor. All my life, I never had to face any real financial or social challenges that we essentially put me "below" others. But when I look around, I see that other people have been put down by certain events or reactions in their lives.
Whether it be the immigrant who struggles to get to work on a daily basis, and knows they will never live the life they thought they would, or the struggle of those of another race or sexuality to be seen as equal. All these challenges make me ask myself- what can I do that will actually make a difference? What can I do to make more and more people feel like they can reach the level of equality of their neighbor?
Feel free to take this to a more philosophical level, or simply point someone to some friendly gestures that can make someone's day.
Whether race/sexuality/culture influences one's interests actively or passively I don't know, but generally a set of one peoples' most common interests differs from the set of another peoples' common interests. It's been my experience that all it takes for me to click with someone of another creed is to share a common interest. It seems too basic or obvious, but I think the mind needs just that push of familiarity to break down most, if not all, barriers.
That's actually a really interesting point. I have never really thought about it that way. But at the same time I can argue that someone who is higher up on the financial or social latter might refuse to believe or admit that they have a common interest with someone below them. Do you think this is a mindset that can be broken down?