I often hear criticism about my political views, especially from those who are staunchly against President Obama. I welcome the criticism because I voted for what I felt was right: love, freedom, choice, and equality. If that invokes the criticism of others, so be it.
Recently, I was engaged in some political banter with three older middle class men at work, all of whom were complaining about the president and predicting the many ways in which the United States will fall within the next year. One even went on to prophesy a downfall of biblical proportion, saying the recent acceptance of gay marriage, among other things, was a sign of the end of days and the second coming of Christ. As a non-religious person, it is hard for me to fathom how one can so easily intertwine politics and religion. Government should be formed around basic morality and rights, those we all undoubtedly recognize, such as the respect we must show others and the knowledge that we should not kill or harm. I do not need a commandment to tell me it is wrong to kill, steal, or treat others badly. I know it is wrong.
Listening to these men made me realize just how sad of a state this country is in. Instead of embracing each others' differences, teaching respect, kindness, and love, we choose to divide ourselves and strike out against those who do not conform to our way. The U.S. is filled with people who are too selfish and worried about their money to even consider the rights, freedoms, and needs of others around them. I used to say I was a democrat, but the truth is I belong to no political party. I simply vote for love, freedom, and common sense. Most of the time my ideas fall in line with the democratic agenda, but I still disagree with many things they do. Overall, I think America needs to consider the good of the entire country, for all people, and not just some. Whether you are poor, rich, gay, straight, transgender, black, white, smart, hardworking, or whatever, you should have the same unalienable rights as any other person in a "free" country.
One of the things said by those men that bothered me the most was that I had voted for Obama because I was young and my generation did not understand what they were voting for. Youth does not equal ignorance. I am politically informed, and honestly I believe some of my generation understands better than most the need to pull together, reserve judgement, and be accepting of everyone. I have learned about slavery, Jim Crow laws, and Martin Luther King Jr. I have studied the holocaust and heard what it was like to be segregated, separate, and treated as the "other". I have studied and have personally seen the struggles of the LGBTQ community to gain the rights that they deserve and always should have had. I've watched religion tear down countries, start wars, destroy people, and corrupt governments. I say, learn from history, change things, evolve with time, and above all else, remember to love, respect, and help one another. My youth does not hinder my ability to think, to decide, or to feel.
Martin Luther King Jr. put it plainly, "A nation that continues to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." In our plight to defend ourselves and be the number one country in the world, the United States has forgotten that change and innovation must first begin at home. Let's put more money into education and programs that are beneficial rather than focusing so much on guns, violence, Wall Street, and big corporations. Let's stop giving raises to Congress when they do not need it. The U.S. needs to encourage and cultivate it's people by giving them the rights, freedoms, and opportunities that have always been promised in this land.
I am not trying to make a statement against those who are religious or those who lean more toward republican ideals. I am merely saying that we need to work together in order to get things right. That means less fighting, more love. Stop taking so much time and energy to argue over petty things. Make big changes and give those the time and consideration and money that is too often wasted on political campaigns, private jets, expensive food, and new china to eat it off of. America needs to prioritize.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
