Hate is not Welcome

Lots of people get fired up in arguments about politics. We tend to take sides, feel things deeply. We are after all, human. I can feel very strongly over the issues of equal rights, equality, women’s rights, accepting differences, disability rights, diversity. I enjoy people from other cultures, religions, backgrounds, and places. I enjoy learning about our similarities and our differences.

I have always known there are people who thrive on hate.

Sometimes I have chosen to overlook those bad traits in others. That was my mistake. I owe it to myself and others not to normalize or accept intolerance. It doesn’t matter to me if a person is from one of the many countries of Africa, or if they are American black, if they are originally from Central or South America, Asia, somewhere in the Middle East, or India. People are people and hatred and intolerance is unacceptable.

Some Americans are attempting to normalize hatred and discrimination. They are playing on people’s fear of differences and the unknown. Please do not fall for this.

As Americans we have many hot button topics, but look around at our diverse features. Unless you are Native American, your people came from somewhere else. Look back far enough and your ancestors worshiped the sun, the moon, and the stars at some point. All humans did. We advanced, and advanced, and discovered science.

Everyone is trying to survive, build a better life, raise our families, and find some joy. Object to immigration, but leave out the hate. Object to medical practices, but leave out the hate. Object to religious practices, but leave out the hate. Object to political practices, but leave out the hate. Object to sexual practices, but leave out the hate. We have no room or tolerance for it here.

Too many have been injured, too many have been broken.

For a country that prides itself on freedom, why can’t we let people be who they are, do what they need to survive? If you have religious objections to abortion, chose not to get one. If you don’t want to be gay, chose not to, but let others love who they love. Be free, and let others be free their way. Freedom isn’t to be like you, it is to follow our own inclinations and suffer the consequences. Laws should protect us from one another, not victimize certain groups.

Leave out the hate when you think about freedom, when you talk about politics, because the hate is destroying the fabric of our country. We are better than that, we all are.