There are those in this world that can’t seem to survive unless they can lock us all into neat little categories. Democrat. Republican. White. Black. Liberal. Conservative. Gay. Straight. Christian. Heathen. No one is allowed to blur the lines, to live their own lives in whatever manner they so chose, even in the privacy of their own home. To do so immediately brings the crushing hand of outrage and condemnation. You must conform to the specified ideal at all times or you are doomed to suffer the consequences. And if you have the gall to speak out in defense of yourself or others, you are guilty of persecution.
When did telling someone to mind their own business become persecution?
Here in the US we’re still eighteen months away from the next presidential election. Eighteen months too much of political games-playing, accusations, promises, lies, inflammatory rhetoric, and the 24/7 news cycle feeding us every bit of minutia they can dig up to keep us angry about one side or the other. Not to mention the billions – yes, BILLIONS – of dollars that will be spent for all that “campaigning.” All I can think about is how all those billions can be so much better used.
I find it troubling that our politicians see nothing wrong with spending that kind of money to keep themselves ensconced in their golden palace, but have no hesitation in cutting far less amounts from social programs that can help the most needy among us. If you’re poor and hungry, you’re a lazy moocher and just need to work for a living like the rest of us. There is no compassion and no desire to understand that the problem of poverty – with its unemployment, under-employment, hunger, medical indigence – is far more complicated than anyone of us wants to believe. The category has been defined, and no one wants to look beyond the borders because then they’d have to think. Or, worse yet, find out they’re wrong.
Categories are easy. Our little ape brains still want to sort the world into Us versus Them, our tribe versus their tribe. If you’re not one of Us, then you’re one of Them and therefore the Enemy. It simplifies our lives and allows us to justify the prejudice and bigotry we heap on anyone outside our own little boundaries. If you’re gay, you’re a sex-crazed pervert. If you’re Muslim, you’re a terrorist. If you’re black, you’re a criminal. There you are, wrapped up into a neat little package which we can now toss away as we move on to worry about more important things, like what to have for dinner.
Sorry, folks, but all that categorizing just makes it harder for us to figure out the problems, not easier. It’s that mentality that has caused most of the issues in the world, not fixed them. Us versus Them never ends well, for anyone. So here’s a radical idea: how about we be Us AND Them? Or, better yet, just Us? We’re all in this together. We’re all humans. We all share this one planet (for now). We all want basically the same things: health, happiness, good friends, a safe home, clean water, nutritious food, and the freedom to be ourselves in whatever form that takes. Let’s focus on what we all have in common, instead of the nuances between us.
I want this because I’m tired of seeing a world filled with anger. I’m tired of being condemned to Hell and accused of sacrificing babies because I’m Pagan. (Side bar: Pagans don’t believe in Hell and sacrificing anything besides a bundle of sage isn’t even a thing.) I’m tired of being a slut and a Femi-Nazi because I believe a woman has the right to decide what to do with her own body and deserves equal pay. I’m tired of comforting friends who have been bullied, abused and relegated to second-class citizenship because of their sexual identities or orientation. I’m tired of the extreme right branding me a libtard because I don’t think one percent of the people should have ninety percent of the wealth. I’m tired of the extreme left declaring me a gun nut because I support our 2nd Amendment rights. And don’t even get me started on fat shaming.
So much anger and hate, and for what? Why is it that not only do we have to win at all costs, but everyone else has to lose badly? We cannot be satisfied until that religion, that color, that country is totally wiped from the world. Only then can we truly be happy. Are we so small that the only way we can feel big is with the complete destruction of somebody different?
And what really boggles me is that so much of what people fight over often has no direct affect on each other. So what if someone is gay or black or Muslim? Why does that matter? Their existence doesn’t make me any less straight or white or Pagan, so why do I have to get my panties all in a wad about them? I’m far more concerned with our failing infrastructure and global climate change than who my neighbors are sleeping with or what god they are praying to. By continually focusing and fighting about these little differences that don’t mean jack in the big picture, we are distracted from that very picture. It’s time to stop being mesmerized by all the smoke and mirrors, to stop allowing ourselves be divided. A house divided falls. And since I’d like to think none of us want that, I suggest you start helping me shore this house up.