Inclusion, Not Exclusion
So many different unconscious factors go into everyday decision making. In How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer, the overwhelming of the mind with facts and information overloads our minds and makes decision making harder and a lot of the time, the incorrect decision. The development of the MRI machine to diagnose back pain has led to numerous people undergoing unnecessary and often painful surgeries, when in fact, simple muscle relaxers or homeopathic treatments would have been a much better decision. Many of the abnormalities doctors discover with the MRI are just normal effects of aging and not the source of pain, yet the doctor would treat that area.
Marketing targets this information overload and targets people to believe that their product is better than others or is necessary in life. We read about examples of this with the 200 options for jam and Robert Parker, the well-known wine critic, encouraging blind tastings, so that fancy labels or foreign names do not sway you one way or another. The experiment in which people were given different wines and knew their prices versus not knowing the prices really showed that humans for the most part believe that just because something costs more that it is better.
Lehrer introduces many different experiments, studies, and examples of unconscious decision making and has determined there are “flaws and foibles of the rational brain — the fact that it’s an imperfect piece of machinery — are constantly affecting our behavior, leading us to make decisions.”
“Dear Hector” was an interesting podcast. I am not sure if I were in his shoes I would be able to forgive the killer and rapist of someone I love, let alone befriend. I feel Hector got to know the killer of his adopted daughter to try and hold on to her memory and to understand why she was murdered. Hector said that it was a “test of his principles and beliefs,” and that is why he did not push for the death penalty. He would be better than Ivan. At the trial when Hector spoke, he looked at Ivan and “tears were running down his cheeks” and he saw “a soul in hell.” This was the moment that Hectors anger towards Ivan, changed to Hector feeling sorry for Ivan. It took a lot of bravery for Hector to start the conversations with Ivan, but it put Hector’s soul at ease.
In the podcast “Our Town,” immigration came to a head. At first a large portion of the residents were very anti-immigration, but over 20 years and after many trial and tribulations, the towns’ people changed to accept them. There was a mindset throughout most of the community that immigrants brought crime and filth and were a drain on the economy. This topic is very alive today in America and politicians should take a look at Albertsville, Alabama. This major shift in ideology happened after law HB56 was passed on the state level. It was a law that was created to “make life in Alabama so unpleasant people would self deport.” The outcome of this law is that it “created fear and distrust” which made it “hard to build a community.” Economists did the numbers and found that immigrants were not that large of a drain on the economy, in fact uneducated white Americans create a much larger drain.
There was a shift in culture, modeled after the schools, which encouraged inclusion, not exclusion. This change did not occur overnight however. It took many years of culture shock in which fear and misunderstanding where prevalent, before the residents began to accept the immigrant workers.
The students I work with are often excluded and shamed because of their difficulties learning. These difficulties stem from learning disabilities, anxiety, bipolar, depression, ADHD and an assortment of other issues. Regular education schools need to do more to change the stigma of disabilities. With recent school shootings, schools have begun talking about and addressing bullying and creating more inclusion for student left out over looked. This is a change in thinking that our entire country is ready for on all levels. This change needs to become an unconscious decision of inclusion, not exclusion before we can become a harmonious community and restore our country to being an amazing place to be proud of and call home.
