By arbitrarily categorizing people by superficial traits, we create divisiveness. Almost everyone I know is mixed heritage – I am part Mexican, (Native American) Chocktaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Portuguese, African, French, Spanish, Chinese, Brazilian, Cuban (don’t think I missed anything). However, everyone in class would say I was white. What is white? The world keeps on changing and times are totally different now than they were decades ago. My wife is Irish/Italian/German, she went to Ireland and told some of the locals she was Irish. They laughed out loud, because outside of America, no mater what ethnicity we identify with…We Are American. Hopefully in the future, people will look back at these times and gasp at how ridiculous we were for fighting over random attributes like skin color or religion. It will sound as ridiculous as defining and judging people by nipple size or earlobe shape. Other than being a good base color for a painting “White” is meaningless to my identity. At some point we are going to have to learn how to forgive the past and move on with the future and learn how to support each other as human beings, regardless of national or ethnic identification. Group identification can inspire pride, but it can also create segregation.
Forgiveness, love, solutions! I am just grateful to be alive? Rise above the divisiveness. We have to come to a point when we forgive the ignorant acts of the past. Anger and Hate are Anger and Hate no matter what side they are on. We have to live in this century, right here, right now. Instead of distracting our minds with reasons to be angry, we would accomplish so much good if we engage our minds with positive solutions. Change the world! Stop fighting the shadows. Just make your world a better place?
Change begins with one person, the self. It must then be applied to their own surrounding or it is nothing but a mere self-satisfaction of issues, be it man made or real(natural).
ReplyDeleteIf people didn't fight, women wouldn't be able to vote.
If people didn't move forward with a positive attitude and refused to sit in the back of the bus, there would still be two sets of bathrooms, two sets of water fountains for America.
If people didn't fight for their beliefs, there would be no homosexual rights, Civil Rights including title vii of the Civil Rights, nor would there be a FLSA-Fair Labor Standards Act.
If people weren't angry, disgruntled, or dissatisfied with all of the above that I mentioned, you would not have the freedom to even say what you just did, because, Sam Adams would've likely sat on his own thumb, Benjamin Franklin wouldn't have made news, President Washington would've been a colonel of the British Army, and we wouldn't be America.
:)
I hope I didn't give the impression that was encouraging apathy. I believe in personal responsibility, standing up for what you believe, but in a positive self-empowering way. When rosa parks sat in the front of the bus, it was a positive action done with dignity. Change starts with a thought. It reaches out to those nearest to you and it grows. I honestly don't think change in the civil rights movement and homosexual rights movements happened because of anger. Those movements were about love. Love of community. Love of humanity. I think it changed because minds changed, paradigms changed. What was really the cause of the change? Love, not anger. I believe you can encourage change through your personal actions, by your example. I don't think you make a better world by rolling over. You need courage, bravery, but most of all you need to be driven by Love.
ReplyDeletehrm... driven by love.
ReplyDelete:D
A better approach!
I can't lie. Yes, injustice angers me. But as much as I may feel angered by injustice, I feel much more compelled by compassion. I try to take a positive, constructive approach to negative situations. It isn't always easy. But I find, I have more clarity if I am able to approach a problem with forgiveness and compassion, rather than anger.
ReplyDelete:)
This is soo true, thank you for sharing some positive, intelligent thoughts. It is a nice change. I hope the people who do feel like separating themselves from the rest of the world will look at what you said and see the true meaning behind it.
ReplyDeleteIf only the whole world would take your advice. We would be somewhere so different. I wish I could be alive to see our future look back on these days and laugh about how ridiculous we were. I am glad however, that there are people like you both and I that believe in something greater then all the anger and clouded conflict. It is us who will change the future from being like this. But BHAVA is right-we must approach this conflict and anger with compassion and acceptance but at the same time fight for what we believe in.