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Sunday, January 29, 2006

Muted Applause

Most people are now aware that Washington state -- after a 30-year fight -- has finally approved adding sexual orientation to legal protections against discrimination. I realize that the many dedicated people who've been involved in this process have the right to be happy and overjoyed, but my enthusiasm for this great victory is somewhat muted.

It just boggles my mind that legislation had to be passed in 21st Century America to insure that a respectable and productive segment of our population is afforded a certain measure of dignity. What does it say about us as a society that we had to pass a LAW to accomplish this?

Why is it so hard for people to just accept people (and all of life) as they are? We differentiate people based on color of their skin, sexual orientation, gender, economic standing, age and mental capabilities, to name only a few things.

Yet, for all these differences, we share so much more in common. We all breath the same [foul] air. We all need food and water to survive AND we all have to eliminate waste from our bodies. We all need love and nurturance. The list of commonalities is extremely long.

But do we focus on such things? Hell, no. We focus instead on the little differences and we magnify them to unreal proportions. We make mountains out of molehills.

And for what? So we can feel superior to others!

This is all so crazy when you realize we all come from the same essence, an essence where nothing is superior and nothing is inferior. Everything is one.

1 comment:

  1. Hmmm. Are you sure you aren't really an anarchist rather than a taoist? Are they mutually exclusive... no, I suppose not.

    Excellent post. This idea should be applied to all areas of our lives. We are all in this boat together. We need one another, and we aren't all that different. Enlightenment and common decency are what we need - not laws.

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