Bigotry and Hatred. Racism. Homophobia. Transphobia. Religious intolerance. And the list goes on. It is 2017, right?
My heart is filled with so many different emotions these days. I have always tried to be positive and upbeat. I have always tried to find the good in every situation. I have always tried to look at both sides of an issue before making a final judgement. These days, I feel like the positive spin is harder to find. The good in every situation is becoming harder to seek out. There are two sides, but one side often dominates more and more.
How do we change the dialogue? How do we change hearts that are so desperately lacking compassion and love? These are not easy questions nor easy tasks. With the recent events in Charlottesville, VA, one has to wonder what has become of tolerance and understanding. For all our advancements with technology and medicine, basic human compassion needs a reboot or treatment.
I realize that there are millions of people who have great compassion and love for their fellow human beings. I am one of those millions. I don't see color, gender expression, sexual preference, religion, etc. as a reason to hate someone. There are plenty of wonderful people from all walks of life. The problem is the few with the loudest voices and the most disregard for the lives of fellow humans..
I mean, let's face it. We are all humans, first and foremost. We need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat. We seek acceptance and love. We bleed the same color blood. We laugh, we cry, we react. That's the beauty of humanity. There is so much that is the same. We have different skin tones. We have different voices. We have different heights and weights. We have different talents. There is so much that is different and worth celebrating. These are the things that can make humans such a beautiful species. Yet, there are those who seek to silence those they deem different, those that follow the beat of a different drum. And why?
Instead of looking to remove them, belittle them, why not take time to learn about them? Why not take time to celebrate them. Why not take time to befriend them? What causes this fear? What causes such hatred?
It would be easy to point fingers at leaders And yes, much of the resurgence may very well stem from the stand one particular leader has taken and shown support for in various ways. However, one person is not solely responsible for all this hatred. Many would say it starts at home. And, yes, that may be the case for many. Growing up believing themselves to be superior because of their skin tone definitely is a life lesson taught at home in some households. But there are many parents of the haters that completely disagree with their child, and do not support that agenda at all.
So where do we lay blame? There are too many factors to pinpoint any one cause. So how do we counteract this level of intolerance? As corny as it sounds, with love, patience and understanding. While it is so often hard to bite one's tongue and remain calm, more often than not, that's the best way to handle things. It is definitely not easy. Questioning people's beliefs can have many different outcomes. The individual may stop and truly think about their stance. The individual may become defensive and upset. The individual my just agree to disagree. But dialogue needs to be opened up to start the healing.
That is not to say those of us with compassion and love for our fellow human beings should remain silent and dormant. The opposite must happen. We must be vigilant, vocal, and aware of what is happening. We must be prepared to face resistance, in many forms. We must be armed with truth and facts. We must be physically able to handle ourselves in situations that may become challenging and unsafe. Know where you are and know with whom you are dealing with.
I am hopeful that we can get to a place where there is more understanding and compassion for everyone, and less hatred and intolerance. Let's get back to being positive and upbeat. Let's find the good in every situation. Let's look for common ground. It is not an easy task, but a necessary one. This is our life. We all share one planet. Love must win.
