Love or Hate: It’s Your Choice

This could be a controversial post but in light of the controversy that has surfaced from Glenn Beck’s Washington, D.C. rally (on the same day that Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech), I thought it an appropriate time to address the issue of racism and respect in this country.

I am angry that racism exists; I will always be angry that there are people in this world who hate. Hate is a powerful emotion that can destroy people and cause violence and destruction. It is an emotion that is not natural, one that does not take into consideration that one person is no different, no more special, no more human, than another. It defies the notion that we are all equal. How can someone believe he is more entitled than the person standing next to him?

I have tried to teach my children that hate is wrong, but in school there are children who make racist comments all the time. My kids have experienced this. What do you think these children will grow up thinking? Is it really considered “cool” to insult people based on race or religion or differences in appearance? I would think we have come too far as a nation to raise our children to disrespect others, don’t you? But it is happening in our neighborhoods, our schools, even our own homes! Part of growing up is questioning: if kids are taught something is wrong, yet they hear it and see it when they are around other kids, don’t you think that they will question it? Or at least consider why this thing they were taught is so “wrong” is no big deal to many others? What kind of a message does this send?

Have we as a nation not learned anything from the Nazis, from the fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians, from the troubles in Iran and Iraq, from the drug lords of Southn America and Mexico who murder innocent people on a whim for being in the wrong place, from the terrorists who blew up the twin towers and killed thousands of innocent people? What will it take to make people realize that we all need to respect each other, to honor differences even if we don’t agree, to get along? After all, isn’t that the point of a democracy?

I know this is a heavy topic for a blog post, and one that I am sure will generate a lot of commentary (even it if is not written), but come on everyone! To see change we need to be change! Kids need to be raised to respect each other. While everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and those with power like Glenn Beck can draw hundreds of thousands out to listen to his views, we need to start in our own homes, in our own schools, churches and neighborhoods.

Thinking that your actions cannot make a difference is like pledging to accept hate, and saying it’s ok that these things occur. You don’t have to be a star, politician, talk show host or even have deep pockets to make a difference. Change often starts small. So stand up against hatred and small-mindedness. You CAN make a difference.