Time to recognise the reassuring sameness of the human condition

The unbridled bigotry that fuelled the 5,000 misguided voices chanting anti-Lebanese slogans on Cronulla beach before Christmas and the ensuing violence is deeply disturbing.

Given Australia’s large multicultural mix, the hatred and resentment that stems from unyielding racist attitudes probably constitutes a bigger risk to our collective security than the threat of terrorism.

Racism can only be defeated if we understand its root cause and come to accept the reassuring commonality of the human condition.

The spark from the riots seemed to be the attack on two lifesavers the previous week. This occurred, supposedly, against a backdrop of other incidents of violence by people of Arabic appearance. While we should be perturbed that people in our community engage in violent acts, we should not allow the anxiety stemming from this to fuel erroneous generalisations and stereotypical views about the hundreds of thousands of Arabs with whom we have forged a rich, diverse and harmonious nation.

To stigmatise and alienate groups within the community is not only morally repugnant, but would be self-defeating - it would increase the risk of more violence in Australia.

Worldwide empirical research shows people from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds commit a disproportionately high number of criminal offences. Social disadvantage not only prompts rebellion, but people from such groups have less to lose from being imprisoned.

A sure fire way to increase the chances that a person will commit a criminal offence is to limit their opportunities for social and economic flourishing. This has been graphically demonstrated on an even bigger scale in France recently. The participants in the two-week riots were disaffected youth who felt that they have been shunned by the mainstream community and could not obtain meaningful employment and educational opportunities.

The key point to note from the events in France is that it does not openly discriminate against any sectors of the population (except in relation to citizenship laws). There are no laws providing, for example, that the good jobs or high level educational places are confined to people from certain racial or religious groups.

Yet large sectors of the French community felt so alienated they lashed out by engaging in widespread civil disobedience. This is not surprising. Discrimination and a sense of being left out of the “club of opportunity” is often subtle but can be highly damaging. It comes in the form of a distrusting sideways stare, a disinclination to provide goods and services to people from certain backgrounds and proposed bans on religious attire, which disproportionately affect certain groups in the society. It also comes in the form of qualified expressions of tolerance: “Not all Arabs are bad but …”

It is time to drop the “but” and acknowledge that the recent violent incidents leading up to the riots relate to a relatively small number of people who are not representative of the broader Arabic community.

In potentially highly charged times like this it is important to bear in mind the sameness of the human condition. This can only serve to unite us.

Recent scientific studies into human wellbeing, while noting the diversity in the range of activities through which people choose to express themselves, show that at the base we are very similar. At the core, humans are wired pretty much the same. While some people prefer singing in a choir as opposed to boxing in a ring, and others prefer repairing motor vehicles to writing poetry, we should not allow these superficial differences to divert us from the fact we have the same basic needs and our wellbeing is promoted by the same type of things.

In a nutshell, the things that are conducive to happiness are fit and healthy bodies, realistic goals, self-esteem, optimism, an outgoing personality, a sense of control, close relationships, challenging work and active leisure, punctuated by adequate rest and a faith that entails communal support, purpose and acceptance. Once beyond an average level of income, money is irrelevant to happiness.

Happiness is not age dependent. People of all ages report similar feelings of wellbeing. Gender has a role to play as a predictor of happiness. While men and women experience the same average happiness, women are more vulnerable to depression. Close friendships and relationships are also important to happiness, with married people being happier than singles.

These findings apply irrespective of race or religion.

As individuals we should all be working towards the above ends. As communities we need to foster an environment where each individual can tenably strive to achieve these goals. That is a key ingredient to ensuring that our fundamental interests - the right to life and security- are not imperilled. Arabs want this just as much as the rest of the community.

Let’s make sure that we continue to live in a society where all citizens are given an equal opportunity to flourish - this is the best guarantee of our individual prosperity.