In the world we live in today it has become easier to discriminate then to learn about what is really going on. The blame for everything that is wrong is passed around from different ethnic groups to political parties to religions because it is always easier to find faults in other than in our own doings. This causes discrimination to grow and grow until it consumes us. Some of us sit idly by and watch it unfold while others encourage it. The discrimination in this country has reached a new high thanks to anxiety of the future, lack of knowledge and widespread hatred.

The lack of jobs and feeling powerless causes anxieties when thinking of the future. Many people believe that the lack of jobs is caused by immigrants, both legal and illegal. With the economy being so bad and the unemployment rate being at an all time high a wave of fear is rippling over the nation. This fear mixed with the thought that immigrants are taking the few jobs there are makes many people lash out on all immigrants, or people that they believe are immigrants because of their appearance. Having all this uncertainty causes a sense of being powerless. People believe that by treating a group of people badly they will have power and control. This sense of power is something people feel like they need with such an unclear future laying ahead. What we must all realize is that all we have is the present and if we worry about the future before anything really happens we are just condemning ourselves. No one knows who will be leading the nation in a few years and it might very well be someone who has been discriminated.

A lack of knowledge has also caused discrimination to spiral out of control. Many children are raised to believe that one group of people is evil; moreover, many people believe that because of one group of people things are the way they are. This complete and utter lie has spread to the point that discriminating someone has become more than common place, it has become the norm. More and more children are being targeted by Neo-Nazi groups. These children join because of lies they are told and misconceptions about what the group really does. Neo-Nazi members tell them that they are protecting who they are by getting rid of everyone else. These children are told that all the other races or religions or people who do not agree with them must be eliminated. It is not only children but teens and adults, as well, believe everything they are told and never bother to verify if it is true. Instead they go out and commit discriminatory acts, based of lies. Also people believe that if one person from a group does something bad that everyone else in that group must also do these things. With everyone going around and thinking that a whole race or religion is awful because of the acts of one person only helps in continuing the cycle of ignorance and discrimination.

The metaphorical flames of discrimination are fueled by widespread hatred. It is human nature to follow someone’s lead. So if one person commits a hate crime it causes a snowball effect of hate crimes. The rage of one man easily causes more and more to follow suit and kill people because of what they look like. When we think back to the Civil rights movement we think that it was so long ago and that things have changed so much. But have things really changed all that much? In the 2009 report of the FBI 7,775 incidents were reported of hate crimes that occurred because of the victim’s race, sexual-orientation, religion or ethnicity. Most stories of violence or acts of discrimination never reach the public unless someone has died. Even though we now have integration at least before everyone knew that awful travesties were occurring because of discrimination. Now we mask it with a façade of acceptance and say “we are not racist or discriminatory we play with this black kid at school and we hired a Muslim to work for our company.” All these pretentious things we do need to stop and real acceptance and kindness needs to start.

A lethal combination of hate, ignorance and anxiety has made our society what it is today. If we stay on the path we are on now it is only a matter of time before we implode; hate is simply not a luxury we can afford anymore. The delicate state of the economy, family lives and our own well being all depend on whether or not we can pull together and love one another as we are supposed to.