Disillusioned Dreamer

The more I see the news and people posting on Facebook, the more my faith in humanity is lost. I'm truly starting to feel that, rather than going forward, we are regressing and heading toward segregation all over again. This isn't making America great again. It's 2016. We shouldn't be having the arguments we have today. Yet here we are, arguing over who can marry who, what religion is right, where people should go to the restroom. 

For the longest time, I've held hope that we will eventually be a nation of equality, but I'm starting to see that we are more divided than ever. I'm becoming disheartened. Some days, it makes me wonder why I fight. Why do I fight for equality? Why do I fight for the rights of others? 

It seems like, since a certain presidential hopeful came on the scene and started spewing his hatefulness, the world has taken to his platform and made it their own. People aren’t afraid to say what they think anymore. They don’t care for the feelings of other people, just their own thoughts. It’s heartbreaking to see the road we are heading down. 

There is so much hate and I know there always has been, but it seems like now, it’s even more evident than it was before. I’m truly terrified of the world my children are growing up in. What kind of world are we leaving for them? A nation where it’s okay to hate your neighbor because they aren’t the same race, religion or sexual orientation as you? No, that’s not the legacy I want my kids to have.

A great many lives were lost in the battle to gain just an inch of equality. Those lives no longer seem to matter to this generation. The lives of our fellow citizens don’t even seem to matter. Our young people are killing themselves because we’ve become a nation of bullies, a nation where it’s okay to say “You’re not right because you aren’t like me”. It’s encouraged even.

It’s not about us no longer being politically correct. What happened to just being plain courteous? What happened to us living by the old adage of “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” or “Treat others the way you want to be treated”? Why are we teaching our kids that it’s okay to hate a person for not being like we are? 

I’m becoming jaded and I hate that. I hate it because I feel like I’m a solider in this battle for one love among everyone and it’s a battle we are losing. 

I hate it because I don’t understand why.

If we want to make America great again, then we need to bring back love. Because that’s the only thing that can truly fix us.

The Great Religion Debate

At the risk of offering a little TMI, am I the only person that gets really mean right before a monthly visit from Aunt Flo, then depressed after she leaves? Silly hormones.....they like to toy with me.

It's not a secret that I'm not a Christian. No, I'm not a basher of religions either. I'm not an Atheist, as I DO believe in a higher power. I just think that this higher power (god, for lack of a better term) has zero human qualities about it. It's just an energy from which we exist. I don't think that Jesus was it's son, as it is unable to have offspring. I don't think that Jesus died for our sins, I think he was murdered because he had radical ideas. I don't think the bible is the truth nor should it be take at face value, however I DO think that it can be a guideline and a way to find answers and peace.

Having said all of this, I strive to live my life the way that the bible says Jesus lived his. I help my fellow man. I try to do good things. I teach my kids tolerance for other people. I instill morals, values, things that I feel are important to be a good person. However, because I don't believe what some people do, I'm evidently bound for hell and just an all around bad person.

It annoys me when people say things like "Oh, well, if they'd put God back in schools, things like this wouldn't happen. For example, there was a story on my local news station's Facebook page about a school that banned together to end segregation. Okay, I was seriously shocked that there was still a segregated school, but someone posted something like "This is why we need to put God back in schools, because these people are lacking values. If God was back in schools, segregation wouldn't be an issue." 

Okay, I'm not a history buff, in the least. But if I'm not mistaken, when segregation was prevalent, prayer in school was typical."God" was in schools. It still happened. As a matter of fact, a lot of people used religion as a means to justified their ignorance. God isn't going to cure ignorance. Just like lacking God or religion or whatever doesn't automatically make you a bad person. It really bothers me when people can't see that. I will be the first to admit that there are some nonbelievers out there that give people like me a bad name, just as there are some Christian's out there that give other Christian's a bad name (Hello Westboro Baptist Church!). Especially around MY neck of the woods, people think that if you aren't a Christian, you aren't a good person (not all, but a lot of people do).

Personally speaking, I'm of the mindset that if you want God in schools, you need to have Allah, you need to have Budda, you need to have ever deity from every religion. I guess it's just part of my ever going quest for equality. I actually have no problem with school taking about a minute or so have a moment of silence or reflection or whatever. Use that time to pray, to meditate, to do whatever calms you and brings you peace. I think it's a great idea, personally. 

I just wish that people would realize that not having a religion or belief in the Christian god does not make a person a soulless heathen, just as having a belief in the Christian god doesn't make you a zealot. Much like with marriage equality, I just want some tolerance from both spectrum's and a sense of understanding that no one belief or nonbelief is wrong. If it brings you peace, then great....allow someone to find their peace their way and don't tell them they are wrong for it.

Okay, that's my soapbox speech of the day......