There are a million things that seperate each one of us from the other. We are NOT born equal. The circumstances that created the person you've become are different not only empirically but subjectively. While many of us may broadly agree on a matter, it is unlikely that we agree on every detail. We are, each of us, a seperate conciousness. Guided by our own rules, our own morality, our own perspective. In each of our minds there is black and there is white, right and wrong. It is a concious decision to find the gray.
Society can only exist in the gray. Rules must be open to interpretation. Debate and criticism are the idealogical founding fathers of any democracy.
We are seperate individuals with our own unique opinions and yet we have managed to create one of the greatest democracies, if not the greatest democracy, on earth. We have made terrible decisions along the way. We have acted in childish ways. We have settled our differences with words and with violence. We have treated eachother unfairly. We have treated eachother brutally. We have looked upon one another with utter disgust. We have looked upon one another with absolute love. We have fought change at every turn.
Change. It is the one word beyond all others which defines the success of every society in history. Those which have refused to change have died. Those which have embraced change live on.
We have, by and large and after much turmoil in most instances, accepted change. The America of today bears little resemblance to the America of 1776. To say nothing of our economic evolution, we have evolved quite well as a society. Our constitution once stated that a black man was worth only 2/3 of a white man, and that women were worth nothing at all in the eyes of the government. Women got the right to vote 55 years after slavery was outlawed. It took another 40+ years before minorities were given equal rights under the law. The point being that we have fought wars for equality. We fought our government for equality. We have fought long and hard in every battle imaginable so that we may look upon our neighbors as ourselves. In each instance we fought for change because change was and continues to be necessary. The founding fathers of our country knew this and included, within the constitution, a method to change the constitution as we see fit. It was written to be an evolving document and by extension our society was created to evolve.
We have made great strides but the fact remains that we are different. We will always be seperated by race, creed, color, income, ability, intelligence, and countless other things which we cannot control.
What we can control is how we perceive these differnces. We can absolutely control how far these differences will seperate us. We can find common ground. We can make every attempt not to create more things which will seperate us. We can voice opinions and ideas without viewing them as gospel. We can be open to having our minds changed.
It is the height of arrogance and stupidity to have an inalterable opinion on absolutely anything. The world is not static. It changes faster than we can possibly react. But, we must try. We must do our best. Our best is when we disagree and find a resolution. We are, in most opinions I hope, a better country than we were 250 years ago and that is not the result of harmonious accord. It is the result of acrimonious criticism of just about everything. We are free to criticize. It our right to criticize. It is, in fact, our duty to critize eachother, ourselves and especially our government and its politicians.
Saying that George W. Bush is the greatest president in history is (though I personally hate to say it) Pro-America. Saying that George W. Bush is the worst president in history is also Pro-America. Supporting or protesting a war...Both Pro-America. Being christian or being muslim or being jewish or being atheist...All Pro-America.
Yes, there are endless issues that will always seperate us. We will never, ever, agree on everything. However, we have a choice. We can embrace our diversity and allow it to continue shaping a society worthy of the envy of our neighbors. Or we can view the world as black and white and allow those gaps to widen until our differences are irreconcilable. This is the choice of the individual. This is the test of your patriotism. Can you value the opinion of someone you passionately disagree with? Can you understand that you may not be right? Can you accept being wrong? Are you willing to learn and to change?
Close the gaps folks. Move forward not back.
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