“In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.” (Dalai Lama)
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Every day, I grow more and more disillusioned about people. It constantly amazes me how we, the smartest creatures in the planet due to God/evolution/chaos/insert-your-own-reason-here, can be so damn stupid. Each time the sun rises and sets, I seriously wonder if the bar on stupidity continues to be raised or why we keep breaking our own record on how stupid we can become.
Let me stop here for a second to clarify something. I am human. I am not perfect. I make my fair share of mistakes. But if there is one thing I will say, I can admit when I am wrong (and offer the necessary apology) and I can learn from my mistakes.
Now, let’s get back to the subject at hand. For creatures that love freedom, we have the easiest time trying to step on the freedom of others. Whether it’s gay marriage, religious expression, abortion rights, health care, or whether a Happy Meal should have a toy in it (I wish this last one was a joke), we love to get into other people’s faces and tell them what they should do with themselves, whether they like it or not.
I think that deep down, we are all control freaks, but it’s the freakiest of the control freaks that scare me. You know who they are. The ones who are convinced that only they are right and that everyone else who disagrees is wrong. Their justifications vary – raised by a moral family, born a citizen, or even have a book and TV show – but they are all the same. To them, you are misguided and uneducated. You don’t know better. But they do, so let them show you the way. Just follow their lead.
In other words, be a sheep.
I believe that as the “enlightened” species of planet Earth, we need to show that differences are just that and not a marker for what is right or wrong. Will I really lose sleep if someone who has a different skin color that me lives in my neighborhood? Is it really that big of a deal if someone makes a choice to be with someone of the same sex? Is it necessary for you to beat me up because I prefer McDonald’s fries over BK’s?
Differences surround us in all stages of life… and it’s beautiful. Do we discriminate between the rose and the sunflower, or do we just enjoy each for what they bring? Ever seen a pack of dogs fend off another dog because he had a brown patch over his left eye instead of a white one? I won’t use cats as an example because they feel their superior to everyone equally, but at least they all agree on that.
So let’s celebrate those differences. Try and see things from another point of view with an open mind. Debate things from a standpoint of knowledge and a willingness to learn, not because you are better than they are, because you might be wrong. And if you can’t agree, then just agree to disagree.
Just so you know, election time is coming up. Everyone who wants to be in office will do whatever they can to convince you that they are right and their opponent is wrong. You have three choices at this point:
A. Choose your candidate only because he/she is a member of your chosen political party, regardless of whether they could do the job;
B. Listen to the candidates’ stand on the issues at hand (economy, jobs, education, etc.) and then decide who best represents your interests; or
C. Do nothing.
If you choose A, you are a sheep. You are part of the problem.
If you choose B, congratulations. You are on the way to convincing me that human beings can be redeemed and that God/evolution/chaos/insert-your-own-reason-here was right.
If you choose, C, then STFU. You are worse than the sheep.
Don’t be a sheep. Be… just be you. Just live and let live. Of course, if you wish to be a sheep, then I’ll respect that, too. But I will make fun of you, whether you respect that or not.
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