As a country, we are constantly faced with race and religion based narratives. This constant in the national and social discourse is so pervasive that it is never far from any conversation, be it in business, politics, crime, and even seemingly harmless social matters.
Bringing race and religion into many of these discourse has been quite destructive as sentiments of them versus us tend to prevail; or concerns about security; about distribution of wealth; or just a general fear of being suppressed by others. These sentiments prevent constructive discussion from addressing real problems affecting the country regardless of race or creed. Thus we get stuck in a rut.
To some, this thinking is alarmist and is only a minor issue – an exception in some quarters, while the large majority are living in true harmony. I beg to differ. Get yourself into any testy conversation of any current issue, and you will certainly find race and religion not far. The presence is subtle, but it is there.
How do we get out of this unhealthy spiral?
How do we start with bringing people who are divided?
