Our nation has evolved in so many ways over the course of the last few hundred years. In history class we learned vague, pre-approved, lessons about what made our country great. We were told that America was founded for everyone (a great melting pot) and then slavery was legalized and allowed to take place. We are told that we have strong military, capable of defending us from every "insurgent" in the Middle East, but we would only do that if we felt "threatened". Yet time and time again we've been the aggressors without cause. And of course, only biased news and information is reported. All insinuations that America is less than perfect are quickly swept under the rug and we are force fed and idealistic picture of how we are the great hero's of the world.
We all have our opinions. We are constantly gauging partial truths and trying to somehow tie them into our own experiences and morals. We want things to be clear cut (black and white) but experiences are different for everyone. We can't possibly judge truth on our own experiences and it still remain true for anyone other than ourselves. To me, that's why laws never seem quite right, there is no satisfying the masses because there is no correct way to satisfy everyone. Everyone wants something a little different.
Now, there are some clear winners and clear losers when we acknowledge the handful of things that truly binds all human beings. Pain, Love, Respect, Hunger, and Humanity. If we are not striving to improve (or at least not to worsen) the current situation, then something is not right. We shouldn't make things worse for others. The current ideals of racism (or any -ism) come from the same fears and generalizations of racists centuries ago. For example, take "Mexican" out of any anti-Mexican rhetoric and insert it with "African" or "African-American" and our modern eyes and hearts would quickly identify racism.That, to me, is where I draw the line of political expression. Opposing views on the economy, abortion, the environment, etc are fair game. As long as we are pushing for the positive evolution of all people around the globe, and not devaluing human lives based off fear or misconceptions (aka racism), then by all means feel passionate about your opinion.
For the past twenty years we have seen a push towards a more accepting country. We are working together, in unity, to fight back against oppressors (politicians and civilians alike). To finally be free to be who we are without persecution. I want the world to realize that every group has extremists who think violence and manipulation are effective tools to gain attention to their cause. But these extremists are the vocal minority.
The majority of people are realizing that we have a standard to uphold. If we want to be this unique melting pot of cultures we have to work together and embrace our differences. We should learn from one another. Not dismiss cultural or social differences because we do not think they apply to us. We are one race, the human race. Let's express ourselves in ways that promotes the good of all humanity and evolve as a planet.
The majority of people are realizing that we have a standard to uphold. If we want to be this unique melting pot of cultures we have to work together and embrace our differences. We should learn from one another. Not dismiss cultural or social differences because we do not think they apply to us. We are one race, the human race. Let's express ourselves in ways that promotes the good of all humanity and evolve as a planet.
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