"There are only two things I can't stand in this world: people who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the DUTCH!"
It's 2013. This isn't the 1960s when the civil rights movement was taking place. This isn't the Middle East where women have virtually no rights. This isn't the Colonial days when people could be murdered on suspicion of witchcraft; a clever cover used to persecute those who didn't adhere to the strict religious code of the era.
It's disturbing to me, therefore, at a time when we have just elected our first African American president to his second term, that I seem to see more hate and intolerance than I have seen before in my lifetime.
I live the heart of one of the most proudly conservative towns in the country, at least I hope there isn't this much blind intolerance in other cities. It frustrates me everyday to see and hear the things people say about others; the judgements they make based on nothing more than the appearance of another human being. At a time in our history when we should be more united than ever, it seems the divide is instead growing.
Did you lose your job and have to rely on government assistance of some kind? Given the devastating crash of the economy a few years ago, there were and are many millions of American affected that find themselves in such a predicament. Those people are faced with the choice of accepting the help that's needed to keep their families fed or to maintain their pride and refuse the help. No responsible adult would ever allow pride to prevent their children from eating or prevent the mortgage from being paid.
Yet, everyday there is another ruthless comment on facebook from another elitist who feels the need to judge the less fortunate and complain about waiting in line behind someone using WIC coupons at the grocery store. I got into an argument online the other day when someone referred to "THOSE" persons using food stamps. The woman insisted the offensive persons had enough money for their drugs. I guess the poor guy or gal at the grocery must have rolled up a joint right there while waiting for the cashier to process the order. Otherwise, I don't see how she could have known.
Of course, she didn't know anything and her comment proved her ignorance. Clearly, her husband didn't lose his job and she didn't lose hers. She is one of the lucky ones. It's a shame she doesn't realize how lucky she is. Instead, she takes pride in smugly judging others based on their financial situation and assuming she knows their problems based on nothing but how they look in line at Kroger.
Of course, even as I expressed my shock over this woman's comment, I knew I should have probably just kept my mouth shut. If I've learned nothing from my online writings over the years, I have learned to never feed the trolls. You just can't win an argument against stupid on the Internet. There is too much of it and it's too closed-minded. You can make the most coherent argument ever; one that would win debate awards, and the trolls will keep spouting their stupid. It's like trying to reason with a screaming two-year old.
If it was just a divide between the haves and the have-nots, I could probably deal with it. Unfortunately, the chasm goes much deeper and gets much uglier.
I do my best to keep my politics out of the faces of others. I don't routinely broadcast my beliefs because I know it's annoying and it won't change anyone's mind anyway. But it made me shake my head when I saw all those Romney signs in the yards in front of dilapidated houses. People who clearly should be supporting a Democratic leader based on their economic situation were staunchly supporting a Republican. I see people blaming the president for virtually everything; most of which he doesn't actually have the power to affect one way or the other. People are using politics to cover what is nothing more than racism. They didn't vote for Romney because he was the better candidate or because he had a better plan; they voted for him because he was white. And if they tell you otherwise they are probably lying.
No one likes to admit their intolerance, not even to themselves.
Then there are those who hide behind religion and blindly hate homosexuals. This, to me, is the worst kind of stupid. I won't even get into the idea of basing your life around a collection of stories that was told and re-told, copied and translated into 100 different languages, and altered (significantly) each time a new king took control of England. To assume all that is found within that book is true is more blind faith than even the most devout among us should reasonably have.
Nevertheless, you see all the time how God says homosexuality is wrong or the Bible says it's unnatural. The Bible also says that if a woman is raped, she must marry her rapist. It also says that blended fabrics are not allowed. If we are going to pick and choose which passages to follow and which to ignore, why decide to follow the one that creates hate for our fellow man? Because I'm pretty sure hating someone because they are different than you isn't very good, and isn't that what any religion should be about? Being a good person?
The biggest frustration I have had in my adult life is dealing with people who think they should have an opinion on the lives of other people and then thinking that opinion should matter. It shouldn't and doesn't. If two men or two women want to get married, how does that effect me? It doesn't. Not in any way. Whether they get married or not, I have to do all the same things in my life every day. Absolutely nothing changes for me. So why in the hell should I have an opinion about whether or not two people should get married? I shouldn't. And neither should you.
Live and let freaking live, people. It's not about you. Get over yourselves.
I don't know if I'll ever be a great father, but I can tell you that I will make sure that my kids will be raised to be tolerant and accepting of their fellow human beings, regardless of class, race, religious beliefs, or sexual preference. To me, that's the best way I can make sure I leave this world in a better place than I found it: to raise five open-minded, intelligent adults.