The thing we hold dear to us most as Americans is the idea
of liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness for all. The freedom to do what we please; to be free from religious
persecution and not be judged by what we are or what we believe, but by what we
do. We are a country that was created on the idea of tolerance and equality.
Let’s not forget that our country was founded by immigrants from
all walks of life. People came to this land in droves to escape persecution of all kinds. There were different
nationalities, ethnicity's, and religions. It wasn't just Catholics and
Protestants seeking freedom, but Jews and Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Hindu among
many others. We wanted to be free from tyranny and oppression. We wanted FREEDOM.
Freedom to live our lives and raise our families, all without the fear of being
persecuted for something we believe.
Is there any religion the can remain guiltless and say that
no one was ever killed or persecuted during its history all in the name of
their god(s)? No. The following quote was incorrectly attributed to Pope
Francis on a meme circulating around Facebook recently. Regardless of the misattribution,
the idea behind it is powerful and I believe to be true:
“It is not necessary to
believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is
outdated. One can be spiritual, but not religious. It is not necessary to go to
church and give money- for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best
people in history did not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were in
done in his name.”
As a society we have a tendency to cast a huge blanket of
blame over certain societal groups or cultures because of the acts of one or a
few and give them labels. Cops are evil, black people are thugs, Republicans
are racists, Muslim’s are terrorists, immigrants are illegal, and so many more
disgusting generalizations where nothing could be further from the truth. Is
there truth in any of it? Sure, but as with everything else, it is the few bad
apples that lead others to make ignorant generalizations.
America, we are one people made up of many. Stop labeling
each other. We remain divided because we refuse to think for ourselves and in
order to conform to one identity that we might relate to, we hold the line
fervently. Not swaying or considering the ideas or beliefs of someone else. We
all wish to belong to something at the cost of someone else’s infringements. It
has got to stop.
The hatred that is being spewed in our country is just
sickening. Some folks should just be ashamed of themselves, including some of my veteran brothers and sisters. America was founded
on the belief that ALL are created equal and that we should ALL be free from
religious persecution. You can NOT blame a whole religion or group for the
actions of one sect. If that was the case, we'd all be guilty. LIBERTY, FREEDOM,
and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS is not reserved for the chosen few, but for
everyone-regardless of belief or any other label.
Unjust persecution goes both ways and looks just
as ugly coming from the other side.