It is sensational to use a love of books to cure xenophobia. Books have superpowers. They can change minds, create heroes and push people forward towards their dreams. Over the course of my life I have read books about people from all over the world. I have learned to appreciate cultures that at one time seemed foreign and strange to me because of the books I read. By reading books I learned about people in countries around the world. I have learned about religions diametrically opposed to my own. Through books, I have learned about people who live halfway around the world. With books, I have seen the world through the eyes of misogynist. Through it all, books have helped me to become a person who has compassion for other people rather than as a hater of other people. The books I have read throughout my life have kept me from becoming a person who suffers from xenophobia.

Xenophobia is typically defined as an undue fear of what is foreign, especially of people of foreign origin. Unfortunately today, it is common for people to have unreasonable fear and distrust of people who have different religions, speak different languages or different cultures. There are many tools available to help alleviate those fears. However, for me, the best tool is a pile of books. Books are a safe way of exploring different people, religions, languages and cultures.

In the comfort of your home you can sit and read a book and really explore the people who are filling you with apprehension. Of course you would read some non-fiction. For example get a geography book so that you can understand the terrain the people are walking on. The geography of a place tells you what the people look at on a daily basis and how they see the world. Read a book on politics to understand the rules and regulations that govern the actions of the people. Read a biography of a current or past political, celebrity and religious leader in order to see what the people are like. Finally read a non-fiction book to tell you about the imagination of the people. By reading more than one book, in more than one genre you will be able to determine how the people see themselves and their place in the universe.

Once you have read about a people in this way you will understand them better. Perhaps you will even develop a respect of source for the people you are reading about. You may find that books help you go from a xenophobe basing her opinion on stereotypes and misconceptions to a person with an opinion of a people based upon well-reasoned research. And that, is a good thing.

Photo Credit: Janeane Davis, Cure Xenophobia With a Book

In conclusion, it is sensational to use a love of books to cure xenophobia. So, the question for you this sensational day is, what book have you read that helped you understand a different kind of people?