Egocentrism

If we could shrink the earth's population into a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, there would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South

8 Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white

30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian

30 would be Christian

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth, and all 6 would be from the United States

80 would live in sub-standard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

1 would be near death

1 would be near birth

1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education

1 would own a computer

So What?

I'm not a big statistics person; when I see data, I want to know what it means. And what the information above means to me is that the version of "normal" that I was raised under is far from realistic. As a Christian white American of mostly European descent, I've almost always been in the majority, whether at work, school or play. Yet, in the real world, Asians are the majority racial/ethnic group. In the real world, only 30 percent of us are Christian. And in the real world, women should rule, since they outnumber men.

I read these figures and are left with more answers than questions. If 70 percent of the world is non-white, why do whites hold such power? Some like to believe this is proof of white superiority; I tend to think it's because white cultures tend to be a pretty proud bunch, unafraid to shove our way into any situation. Many other cultures, in fact, think we're pretty barbaric when it comes to self-control.

If Christians compose only 30 percent of the world population, why do related organizations seem to act as if they are in charge? I've taken more than a few hits for saying that as a Christian, I know it's not my place to speak or act for the majority... it's not my place, for instance, to demand that public schools teach creationism or use the Ten Commandments to control the classroom. Of course, I do both of those things in my own home, but I'm not crass enough to expect outsiders to conform to my belief system. And, if I may digress, I'm constantly reminded of a song that goes, "...and they will know we are Christian by our love, by our love. Yes, they will know we are Christian by our love." Not by our self-righteous pompousity.

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