Story Snippets

The Race Against Races

- -{Challenge: "What does the word "race" make you think of?"}- - 

The word "race" makes me think of a lot of things. A classic competition, vehicle versus vehicle, to see who comes out on top. Or maybe those vehicles are humans, fighting against each other for the taste of victory. Or maybe, it's something else. Power. Control. Or maybe it's just for bragging rights.

The first thing I thought of, though, was "a race against races". It sounds fancy, and I just came up with it. I'm pretty proud of myself because of that name; it sounds like the title to an epic story about a fantastical world, creature versus creature, fighting until the finish.

Why did they call "race" - as in skin color or culture of a human - "race"? Was it a play on words to the fact that different races almost always treat the other differently, competing for control over the other, hence the word "race"? You know, as in "the race against races", like two different races are competing for dominance or justice.

Maybe it's not just about the races of a human, though. Think about the competitive part about a race; wanting to speed up a beat that person so bad at that game, but you just can't. Helplessness, of sorts, realizing the fact that you can't do anything to reach victory. And even though your opponent has felt that way so many times because of you, you neglect their feelings and focus on yours.

What I'm trying to say is a lot of wars - either over the most severe or simplest things - start because someone wasn't thinking straight. Caught up in a game, distracted by the factors of life and its never-ending changes and battles, caused by someone else who wasn't thinking straight. It's an endless loop, of one person - either blinded by the power of society, or fighting for the justice of having a lack of value - not thinking straight.

Think about it, if you chose to calm down, to not think so much, maybe races wouldn't be invented, whichever way you choose to take the word "race". A classic competition. A bold line seperating humanity. A raging war between two people who disagree amongst themselves. We may never know if it was for better, or for worst.