When Will It Stop?

Friday I woke up and could not have been in a better mood. The sun was shining, I slept well, and it was Friday. I got to work and started my daily ritual of checking the news to see where the market was at and happened to notice this article on CNN.

What I read was not just the failure of this school district, but the American people as well. We live in a divided country, and anyone who tries to deny it just lying to themselves. Alive and well are many people who believe in racism, hate homosexuals, don't believe women deserve equal rights. And the less extreme version is half of Americans identify themselves as Republicans and the other half as Democrats (or at least vote that way). The problem with the last part? There are many people who are spewing hatred at each other. And our children are seeing this hateful behavior and viewing it as perfectly acceptable.

There are a good many people, both liberal and conservative who are spewing some sort of racism. Whether it's anti-black, anti-white, anti-Arabic, anti-Asian, or anti-Latino, there is always some sort of mean spirited thing being said. We live in a world where people who know me feel it is perfectly acceptable to spit out every single Asian joke at me. They hurl their jokes, insults, statements, and even propaganda at me. And then if I don't respond in a jolly way they act like I have an attitude problem. And these people are supposed to be my friends? If this kind of hatred and hurtful behavior is happening between groups of people that actually like each other, how much worse is it from people who don't care about each other? How much more harmful is it to an individual who has no friends, or the hateful words are coming from people who truly do hate them?

I think it's funny that a nation so proud of its melting pot and its "Christian" values lets so many get bullied, tortured, and attacked, verbally, emotionally, and physically. Before you say a negative thing about someone else's lifestyle remember this "Let he without sin cast the first stone." Are you completely without sin? Then worry about yourself and stop spewing hatred towards anyone else.

I often worry about my nephew growing up in this time of despair, of tolerated hatred, and wonder what he will be like when he grows up. Even if his parents (and I'm sure they will) do everything in their power to be positive influences on him, it's not as if he's living in a bubble. He interacts with people, meets people, and not all of these people will be good people. I hope that I get to live to see the day where children are not committing suicide because they feel like they are in a hopeless state of existence. Because to me, America is a place where there can be troubled times, and there can be hard times, but there should never be a time when children do not feel safe and able to be themselves. It is not as eloquent as Dr. King, but that's my dream.