Albert Einstein
"If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon."
George Aiken
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King Jr.
"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."
Thomas Jefferson
"It is never too late to give up our prejudices."
Henry David Thoreau
"Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest of violence."
Francis Jeffrey
"Prejudice is the child of ignorance."
Hazlitt
"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices -- to be found in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone."
Rod Serling
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
Martin Luther King Jr.
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
Martin Luther King Jr.
"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."
Malcolm X
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By GoddessComedia
�2005
What do I value most in my life? This is a difficult question to answer. There are so many things that are important to me; it is hard to choose just one. I value human life, human rights, diversity, peace, love, respect, my family, my friends, my health, my spirit, my freedom, artistic expression in all its forms, and this beautiful planet we live on. In addition, the definition of �value� is subjective. After all, when you ask people what is valuable, you could get many answers. Some may immediately think of the monetary value of expensive material possessions such as homes, cars, and precious jewels; while others would speak of the spiritual and moral values of God, love, and one�s soul. While I do value the things I have mentioned, I have chosen to tell you about a passion of mine that encompasses many of those things and touches all aspects of our lives as human beings: I value tolerance.
This word, tolerance, also has more than one definition and/or connotation but for my use of the word, I am speaking of the �willingness to / capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others� (adapted from several dictionary sources). For me this would include race/ethnicity, religion, and gender. This concept encompasses and embraces all that I value: diversity, human rights, love, peace, respect, etc... and conversely, expresses my abhoration of bigotry.
I am a firm believer that the founding fathers were correct when they wrote in the United States Constitution, �We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.� This statement is powerful and I believe in it whole-heartedly. (However, I also believe that women should be and are included in that statement regardless of the intent to use the word �men� literally or figuratively � as a symbol that encompass all humankind.) Regardless, I value diversity and embrace it in my life in every way I can. I am a person who values a multicultural environment and point of view. I value the open mind and the exchanging of ideas. I believe we learn more about ourselves, our world, and our spirituality by opening our arms, hearts, and minds, to those who are different from ourselves. But at the same time, there is so much we have in common and I wish more people could see that.
I believe all people from all walks of life have value and something to contribute to this world. Whether they actually do or not, is their choice and they will deal with the consequences, but I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt and the chance to do good. We all have free will and the ability to choose to do good or evil and I believe bigotry is the biggest evil we have on this planet. I believe that God made us all equal � but also made us different from one another and unique because God loves wondrous variety. I also believe it was done for a reason � to challenge and teach us about love and acceptance. I also personally feel that the world would be a boring place if we were all alike.
Unfortunately, tolerance has been a challenge for many of the people of this little planet. Bigotry, in all its forms, has been the root cause of most, if not all, of the man-made tragedies of this earth. From the small seeds of cruel words, to civil rights violations, to individual discrimination, abuses and murder, to wars and acts of terrorism: racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, anti-Semitism and other religious prejudices and oppression have wreaked havoc on the human race. They all promote an arrogant belief in the superiority of one group over another. Nothing but evil results from this bigotry and examples can be found all of over the world.
Here in the United States, we have had a long, ugly and sinful history of abusing and oppressing various minority groups and individuals. In other countries, entire races and ethnic groups have fallen victim to, and faced possible extinction from, the efforts of warlords in their pursuit of ethnic cleansing and holocaust. The attempted genocide of Jews during world ward II, and the similar yet larger slaughter that took place in Rwanda, will never be forgotten. Catholics and Protestants have clashed in Ireland for ages as have Serbians and Albanians in Bosnia and Kosovo. Jews, Christians, and Muslims have fought over the holy lands of Israel & Palestine and battled each other in many other nations. India continues to struggle for peace among Animists, Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs, and Tibet�s Buddhists are in conflict with, and oppressed by, the Chinese Communist government. And who can forget the struggles against Apartheid in South Africa? There are too many too name. Many religious conflicts continue in this world as well as ethnic battles. Of course, most recently, we are all living with the threat of terrorist acts from a variety of sources - but most vividly are the extremist Muslim groups determined to use jihad to kill and/or convert all non-Muslims on the planet. Much like the Christian Crusades of medieval times who used the sword instead of the word, these people are using their religious beliefs as an excuse to commit all manner of atrocities and murder in a misguided attempt to do what they perceive as God�s will. So many of these groups have claimed that, at one time or another, they have been oppressed by a rival group, minority, or majority � only to turn around and commit that same act on another. It is nothing more than bigotry cloaked as self-defense or an exercise of religious expression. It is a lie and cannot be condoned. This hypocrisy never fails to disgust and disappoint me.
While these conflicts continue to rage on, I am an optimist in that I believe in the essential goodness of people and our strength and ability to rise above these kinds of evils. I have faith that world peace is possible. However, I am not able to stop wars across the sea. So I do it the only way I can: I clean up my own backyard. In my own life, within my own means and in my small part of this world, I practice tolerance and do not permit or accept any acts of prejudice in my presence or within my realm of control. If I can do something about it, if I have any control whatsoever, I act accordingly and do so with peaceful means. Instead of physical violence, cruelty, or oppression, I use words and art to fight my battles. I write, I talk, and I teach. I sing, I create, I read, I watch, and most importantly - I listen. Only in this way can one grow intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and fill our hearts with love and compassion. Unless an individual or group has harmed or makes the threat to harm others, I do not believe that any of us have the right to judge or harm those who disagree with us or who are different. I also believe we do not have the right to rescind the rights of those individuals or fail to apply equal rights to all. Discrimination is not only a crime, but in my book, it is unethical and immoral. Even when the person might be someone who holds a belief system or lives a life style that you may find offensive or unthinkable � to me, the only thing that matters is: Are they hurting anyone? Have they infringed upon anyone�s civil rights? If they answer is no, then we have a duty to ourselves and each other to prevent them from being discriminated against. If we discriminate against them or assert ourselves and attempt to force others into �our way� of thinking, then we become hypocrites - for would we not be offended if they did the same to us? Then what would stop another individual or group from discriminating against us? Putting oneself into another�s shoes is a necessary part of the issue. Tolerance requires empathy � without it, there is no compassion, no understanding, and no peace. I will continue to do whatever is needed to fight intolerance, but I will not force my beliefs down other people�s throats. I will live by example and speak my mind but listen and observe as well. By doing so, I not only protect the people I love from possible harm, but I enrich my own life in the process. I have faith that reason, logic, and healthy debate is the way and that excessive force will only continue to yield negative results. True faith comes by choice, not by force.
So, as I come to a close on this discussion of what I find valuable, I will reiterate not just what I cherish and value, but what I abhor. Prejudice, discrimination, bigotry: a string of words that holds nothing but negative value for me. They are empty, cold, and evil concepts that bring nothing but pain and harm to the earth � the cost of such acts is too high for humanity to pay. Tolerance, love, acceptance, diversity, and peace: These words hold great value for me. So, I will end this essay with a smile and create my own version of those MasterCard commercials that play on the concept of value by listing the cost of items, and ending with what is priceless and therefore the only truly valuable item.
Prejudice $ Your integrity
Discrimination $ Your compassion
Bigotry $ Your soul
Tolerance and peace - Priceless
Value Essay
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