Racism, Enlightenment, Evolution, and Christianity
If family is the most important thing to you, then so is race
In the video, Mark Strong says, “We’re jumping around; I’m the only black kid on the bus… The bus driver he says, Mike, sit down. He says, Scott, sit down. He says, Mike, you sit down, and you too black boy” (source).
Racism is rational, but not for the reasons you think. Think of it like this: imagine your 3 year old son or daughter running up to you when you come home and giving you a big hug. Isn’t this great? Who can argue against it? This is what you find yourself arguing against when you argue against racism.
The same thing that makes you love your children is the thing that makes you view your own race as more valuable or more important than other races. At the limit, who’s genes are most similar to yours? It’s family. Who’s genes are least similar? It’s someone from a different race.
If family is the most important thing to you, then so is race.
If race is the most important thing, then you will always favor your own extended family at the expense of other races. But according to my formulation, the only way to overcome racism is to place something above family itself. It’s not that family isn’t important, it’s just not the most important thing. How could this be? Aren’t we all in a darwinian competition to survive and pass on our genes?
Racism is self-defeating. The person with the most similar genes to you is you. Despite being a religious story, the story of Cain and Abel describes what happens when you take racism to the limit. Even if you and your brother were the only two males on the planet, racial purification would mean that you kill him. But also, why does racial purification matter at all? It matters if there’s competition and you want to win. The ultimate win is survival.
If you take a material view of the world, it’s hard to argue against the preservation of you, your 3 year old, your aunt, uncle, etc and your extended family. These are things you can see.
In light of this framework, a black kid does have reason to fear white people. It’s not just the hundreds of years of slavery. This question of survival is an immediate and constant problem. What happens to black people if white people suddenly change their tune?
If you take a scientific view, then race is hard to ignore, but this doesn’t mean you can’t try. A combination of denial (censorship), and axioms can get you there. You could reason that all people are equal in a state of nature, and that we should axiomatically believe in this equality — classic Enlightenment reasoning.
Evolutionary theory came after the Enlightenment, and it’s hard to ignore the consequences. Lots of people say it calls into question the supposed equality of all people. Don’t the fittest survive? How could this not be the case? And then you ask: who’s the most superior? What makes humans unique compared to all the other species? Our minds. You can see where this goes.
Christianity goes in a different direction than either the Enlightenment view or the Evolutionary view. Jesus claims that the first will become last, and the last will be first. He claims that the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone. He preaches a message of the weak overcoming the strong.
But to be Christian is to believe in an unseen God. There’s no conclusive proof that this God exists. He must be believed on faith. You could say that equality is also taken on faith. The best you can do is argue that Christianity isn’t against reason, and take the leap of faith from there.