Thursday, October 04, 2007
Disconnect
Have you ever been in a situation where you think you know someone, and then something comes spilling out of their mouth that causes you to have a major mental disconnect? Well, it just happened to me. I should probably warn you now... this is not going to be a light bubbly post that typically appears on this blog.
This country (and many others) has been plagued by a nasty thing called racism for more years than I think most people would like to admit. It comes in many flavors, from blatant to very subtle. It's shown in both words and actions. What I think some people don't realize, is that no matter what, it hurts. It hurts the person it is being directed towards and it hurts our nation.
I was just a part of a conversation in which someone stated that perhaps different races shouldn't get married, because maybe God made us different for a reason. This person went on to say "it's like different animals don't mix together." I was appalled! I have a hard enough time swallowing the fact that in 2007 people still believe in division of races, but to use God to justify it and to go on to compare it to animal behavior? I'm honestly having a really hard time putting this into words. This person continued and said that they don't want to discriminate, but they don't think it's right for different races to marry.
Am I just not understanding something here? Didn't we have a civil war surrounding this very issue. I'm so frustrated that people can still think in these terms. Are we not all human? Do we not all have the same rights? Something like Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness? Is that only applicable within your own race? You have the right to pursue happiness but only if that falls within our discriminatory guidelines. How is it that the human race continues to disappoint me after 26 years of life? Am I stupid to hold on to belief that in my lifetime we could live in a world where race doesn't matter?
How many "purebreds" are there in this country anyway? I'd venture to guess that there are few if any people in this country whose lineage traces back to only one culture. If we're going to draws lines by skin color, shouldn't we also divide ourselves by country. So, if you're a US citizen you can only marry another US citizen. But you know... in the south they have a different accent so people should really only marry people from the same region of the country as them. Then of course there are social classes - rich folk definitely shouldn't be interacting with the poor. Let's not forgot politics, a Republican should never marry a Democrat, imagine how confused the children would be. Oh education! how could I forget education?!? Don't dare marry someone who has a different education level than you. Are we really this ignorant people? We are humans! It's called the Human Race!!!!
Ok... enough with the soapbox, but seriously, can't we just learn to love?
