I wonder what aspects of education fight the tendency
For the individual, mindfulness and instilling a sense of belonging to a global in-group (e.g. “human beings”) is key. Avoid language that directly compares social groups as inherently good vs evil, as that’s where bad things start to creep in. Teaching empathy, critical thinking, nuance, and generally encouraging curiosity are crucial to maintaining this broader world view.
At the macro-level, it’s about maintaining that sense that there is no race, country, or populace anywhere that is top-to-bottom “evil.” So we keep educating our peers with counter-examples to bad behaviors, and shed light on lies and rumors when they reinforce negative narratives. Leading by example through charity, empathy, and compassion can help, provided the story gets out. Unfortunately, all this goes up against power structures a lot of the time; these arbitrary divisions and biases get used to great political effect. It’s hard as hell to do.
For the individual, mindfulness and instilling a sense of belonging to a global in-group (e.g. “human beings”) is key. Avoid language that directly compares social groups as inherently good vs evil, as that’s where bad things start to creep in. Teaching empathy, critical thinking, nuance, and generally encouraging curiosity are crucial to maintaining this broader world view.
At the macro-level, it’s about maintaining that sense that there is no race, country, or populace anywhere that is top-to-bottom “evil.” So we keep educating our peers with counter-examples to bad behaviors, and shed light on lies and rumors when they reinforce negative narratives. Leading by example through charity, empathy, and compassion can help, provided the story gets out. Unfortunately, all this goes up against power structures a lot of the time; these arbitrary divisions and biases get used to great political effect. It’s hard as hell to do.