What does politics, finances, natural disasters, and wars have in common? They raise our awareness about the isms, collectively referred to as Rankism by Robert Fuller. Let’s take a look at some examples.

In the current political climate, all three candidates—McCain, Clinton, and Obama—have come face-to-face with the isms. People won’t vote for McCain because he’s too old (ageism). People won’t vote for Clinton because she’s a woman (sexism). People won’t vote for Obama because he’s black (racism). People will vote for McCain because he’s a war hero (patriotism). People will vote for Clinton because she’s a woman (feminism). People will vote for Obama because of his accomplishments (elitism). The list goes on and on.

You see the isms at work when a person who is blind has to make do with our monetary system, an amputee who has to fight to be able to compete in the Olympics, or a different type of couple who has to seek to be recognized as valid. Natural disasters, wars, acts of genocide, etc. allow us to see differences in how people are perceived for whatever reason.

On the one hand, we have come a very long way. On the other hand, we have a very long way to go to get to the point where we understand deeply that: