Tempest Smith

It's terrible when anyone's life ends, especially when they choose to end it themselves. What makes it even worse is when that person is as young as Tempest was. Her classmates surely knew the teasing was wrong, but people young and old alike tend to underestimate the emotional impact of such reactions. Everyone gets teased about something or other in their lives, whether it's glasses, braces, money, or grades. When the teasing revolves around religion or customs and stems from ignorance and hate, the effects on the victim are even stronger.

If any message should be taken from Tempest's story, it's one of tolerance and respect. People all over need to learn to respect the beliefs of others, whether those beliefs are Pagan, Christian, or any number of others. Stories like this happen to people all over. It's the 21st century, and we like to think of ourselves as an enlightened, intelligent, reasonable species. Shouldn't we be beyond hate by now? After all, in the U.S., we tell stories of the pilgrims coming over from Europe to escape religious persecution and to start a new life. Yet here we are, 383 years later, hearing about intolerance in our schools, and worrying about the possibility of a religious war. It's time to stand up and work for the American dream, as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it: "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." For we will not truly be free until all people, everywhere, can practice the religion that speaks the truth to them, without the fear of intolerance, hate, or violence.

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