Re-human: Part 1 - Dehumanization
There is much in life that dehumanizes.
Parents imposing their vision of success upon children.
Customers purchasing from 'means-to-end' salespeople…
Leaders relating to 'followers' as 'pieces' in their master-plan.
Abuse and its many faces.
As well as the insidious effects of trauma.
The list goes on.
And on.
Add to the mix relentless workplace expectations that crush employees. Churches valuing numbers over names. Language, and actions that objectify, and diminish those who are different.
We also participate in our own dehumanization.
Driven by fear, we compromise our values - and ultimately violate our personhood.
With each compromise, we distort our humanity.
We perpetuate a narrative of 'self-lack', and maintain an illusion of scarcity.
"I am not enough, and there is not enough!"
As a result, we fall for the deception of 'just-a-bit-more'…
A bit more power.
A bit more status.
A bit more security, comfort, and success.
A bit more approval.
A bit more… and I will be okay…
Even at the expense of others…
?
Core beliefs about inadequacy solidify within our psyche.
Personal knowledge of intrinsic worth, and ability begins to fade.
This is then projected on to others.
And we treat them accordingly.
The cycle continues…
To make matters worse (as though all this isn't enough already), our proclivity for self-preservation, while understandable, reduces our capacity for meaningful, rehumanizing relationships.
This is particularly corrosive, as being 'truly human' is not an individualistic venture.
Contrary to popular-thinking, personhood is inherently relational - I cannot become a healthy 'me' without 'you', nor can 'you' become healthy without 'me' (at the risk of laboring this point, your very existence is predicated on a relational encounter between two people…).
Being human cannot be separated from the relational matrix in which we are imbedded.
Nor the wider community, and environment we are called to care for, cultivate and enjoy.
When one suffers, we all suffer.
Much of our dysfunction and associated wounds can also be traced back to early relationships. Donald Winnicott once said "in individual emotional development the precursor of the mirror is the mother’s face". Our view of self is shaped by key early relationships, and is reinforced (or challenged) by the relationships we develop throughout life.
For better or worse, every experience of relationship is formational, and will contribute to our sense of wholeness as humans.
Or not.
These are some of the 'contours' of dehumanization.
Part 2 will explore the dynamics of re-humanization.