The Most Dangerous Meme

Daniel Dennett introduced us to the many dangers of certain memes, like terrorism and behaviors justified by faith. The reason as to why these memes are so prominent in the meme pool may still be a mystery, but what is certain is the diabolical consequence these memes have on their hosts, humans. Dennett, however, fails to mention what I believe to be the most dangerous meme of all: racism.

To be clear, by racism I mean - the belief that one race is more superior to another. This dangerous meme, unlike suicide for instance, does not directly lead to the annihilation of the host. Its destruction extends far beyond those who have been hijacked by the meme.

You may believe that some breeds of racism memes are harmless or benign if anything. I would argue that racism allows us to be comfortable ignoring an inconvenient moral obligation we all have – to help another suffering human being. Of course, some people’s suffering may be self-induced or even desired, but otherwise we have the moral duty of helping those whose suffering can be reasonably stopped.

Racist thoughts pardon us from feelings of sympathy for a race we believe to be less superior to our own. These thoughts may not completely destroy our sympathy for others, but it may eliminate enough sympathy to deter us from taking a moral initiative. In a sense, the racism memes can cause more damage than any terrorist meme. Many harmful memes like terrorism and genocide depend on racism in order to survive. Eliminating or reducing racism will reduce the memes that piggy back on it.

We cannot even begin our war on terrorism without a war on racism.