When the USA was founded, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." This idea was the foundational concept of the nation, the one that justified rejection of totalitarianism, monarchy, religious oppression, and every other kind of inequality. But, as we know, we never have lived up to that concept. Jefferson himself owned slaves, as did Washington and other founding fathers. Our innate tribalistic tendencies, ingrained in us through evolution, have made realization of the lofty ideal of equality very difficult. Tribalism is why most people simply feel more comfortable around those who are like them. In the USA, it grew to the point where we tore each other apart in a civil war. In his attempt to bring us back to our foundational principles, Lincoln reminded us that our founders were "dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal."
It is, I believe, the act of personal "dedication" to the principle of equality that provides the path forward toward actually achieving the ideal. It should be what identifies a US citizen more than anything else - not race or religion or ethnicity or language or socio-economic status. Without it, we cannot achieve our other foundational principle - liberty - as if we do not treat each other as equals, it is inevitable that we will limit the liberty of others.
So, what does "dedication" to this principle look like? We start from the biological and psychological truth that tribalism is innate to our being. If this is not overcome by conscious effort, it develops into racism. Apparently, there are a lot of us who have not dedicated ourselves to this task. A first step is to recognize the confirmation bias that goes into our view of others. I am, by nature, more likely to take the crimes of blacks to confirm my tribalistic biases and to overlook the crimes of whites. Like an alcoholic that needs to recognize his own own disease, I must recognize my own tribalistic tendency toward confirmation bias. Learning to see things from the point of view of others and to understand their experiences is another step. My point is that it take effort to overcome one's basic nature. I think I've gone a long way, but I have a long way to go.
Does anyone here have any thoughts on overcoming the inherent bias that comes from tribalism?