Proceed with caution.
I wish I could say the right thing all the time. I wish I could listen, and keep an open mind, and respond with love and grace all the time. I wish I could understand that we’re all trying to figure this out, and that we’re all simply in different places for different reasons. I wish I could be more patient, and I wish I had more of a sense of urgency. I wish I could change it all, erase the pain, and eliminate the hate.
Denying a group of people, any people, access to loving and caring for one another isn’t responding firmly by giving them what’s best for them. It isn’t demonstrating the importance of holding up some ideal or value or moral purpose for the benefit of all. It isn’t standing up for deteriorating truth or refusing to give in to the downward spiral of humankind. Denying a group of people, any people, access to loving and caring for one another is one thing, and one thing only: Hate.
It is possible to overcome hate. The first step is accepting the fact that we all have it in ourselves to hate. The second step is realizing that we all have, do, and will hate. The third step is recognizing that we must stop hating. I’m not saying these three steps are easy, but I am saying they’re possible. We actually have a choice in the matter, and to think anything less is not simply wrong, it’s selfish.
Standing behind history, science, philosophy, religion, majority mindset, public opinion, ignorance, or pain justifies absolutely nothing. Hate is hate, and love is love. Confusing the two makes a fool of only yourself. You have the power within you to make a change immediately. There is nothing standing in your way. The path to right is within your reach, and the first step is directly in front of you.
Don’t proceed with caution.