I am happy.
The emails and news reports keep pouring in. I’ve actually come to dread that little chime telling me I have messages waiting, simply because I know that interspersed between sale ads and personal correspondence, there will be more emails about things I’d rather not think about.
In fifteen weeks people across an entire state will go to polls and vote. They will be voting to place my people into a status as second-class citizens. I would be incorrect to say that it doesn’t hurt. It has hurt for millennia, every time one group of people tries to overpower another. Now it is our turn to take our place at the whipping post, to be the ones put at the very front of society and beaten down like so many animals.
They think what they are doing is morally correct, that they are saving their families and children, that they will be praised in their version of the after-life for what they are doing now – ridding the world of an evil, or at least keeping it at bay.
Many think I should hate them for that, and hate those that agree that we should be placed on a lower rung of society, but the simple truth is that I cannot. For all the harm and hurt they cause my people, I do not hate them.
Their holy book says three things which I hold dearer to my heart than they could ever, three passages that allow me to go about my life free from the pain and weight of hating so many people.
First, that their god commands that they love all people as they love themselves. That passage didn’t come with disclaimers, there are no riders, no exclusions; all people are to be loved, so I will be the bigger person and do what they are seemingly incapable of.
Second, when their god, in human form was crucified and hung on the cross now symbolic of their faith, he called out to his father high above, in a timeless act of grace and humility, begging his father to forgive the people because they didn’t know what they were doing. In that selfless act he saved entire generations of people, he became the ultimate martyr. I do not wish to become a martyr, but I can follow his example. Every day I beg their god to forgive them. It allows me to live. I cannot blame or judge them for what they do not know. They don’t know me, my lover, my friends, my family, my community, our values, our faiths and beliefs. To blame them for not knowing, would be like blaming a small child for not knowing how to read. I cannot blame them for things which they haven’t been taught yet, for things they don’t yet understand.
And third, the admonishment that they not judge because they would be summarily judged on entrance to the afterlife. I have no right to judge these people, and though the human side of me still does from time to time, I believe that they will be judged, whether here or there, and that I need not complicate my life with such matters.
Perhaps this life is all we have. If so, I would so hate ruining it by hating other people and going about making others and myself miserable. Perhaps we are all born into hell and are reincarnated lifetime after lifetime until we learn the fundamental truths of existence and are allowed to move on. If so, I would like to think I am already ahead in the running. And perhaps their faith is correct, that when this is all over there are two places one can go. Whether I go to eternal salvation or eternal damnation, the people here will still live on, they will carry my memory, even if for a short time. I think it best to set an example and try and leave those who are living with an example that might allow them to live a happy life.
That all being said, I have but one point left to make. I am happy.
After a carefree childhood, the dark years, the reemergence and on to today, it hasn’t been an easy life, but it has been fun. Nothing will make them angrier than to hear such a thing. That someone like me, despite their best efforts to break my people down, is still happy, will likely make them hate me even more.
I say let them. I have but one life ahead of me, and I intend to use it as best I can. They squander theirs away trying to make others just as miserable as they themselves are. But I will be happy.
I have love, family, friends, community, and a knowledge that lets me see this world for what it is and what I want it to be. I am happy.
But it must also be said that what they now do will make life much harder for both my people and myself. Things that were once simply difficult will now present odds of success that are slim to none.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take slim to none any day.
The times ahead are tough, but me must be happy, we must be strong, we must love and support one another before everything else. The fights will be fought. They will be won and lost. The wars may rage, but back home we will still be together, we will still be family.
And for that, I couldn’t be happier.
In fifteen weeks people across an entire state will go to polls and vote. They will be voting to place my people into a status as second-class citizens. I would be incorrect to say that it doesn’t hurt. It has hurt for millennia, every time one group of people tries to overpower another. Now it is our turn to take our place at the whipping post, to be the ones put at the very front of society and beaten down like so many animals.
They think what they are doing is morally correct, that they are saving their families and children, that they will be praised in their version of the after-life for what they are doing now – ridding the world of an evil, or at least keeping it at bay.
Many think I should hate them for that, and hate those that agree that we should be placed on a lower rung of society, but the simple truth is that I cannot. For all the harm and hurt they cause my people, I do not hate them.
Their holy book says three things which I hold dearer to my heart than they could ever, three passages that allow me to go about my life free from the pain and weight of hating so many people.
First, that their god commands that they love all people as they love themselves. That passage didn’t come with disclaimers, there are no riders, no exclusions; all people are to be loved, so I will be the bigger person and do what they are seemingly incapable of.
Second, when their god, in human form was crucified and hung on the cross now symbolic of their faith, he called out to his father high above, in a timeless act of grace and humility, begging his father to forgive the people because they didn’t know what they were doing. In that selfless act he saved entire generations of people, he became the ultimate martyr. I do not wish to become a martyr, but I can follow his example. Every day I beg their god to forgive them. It allows me to live. I cannot blame or judge them for what they do not know. They don’t know me, my lover, my friends, my family, my community, our values, our faiths and beliefs. To blame them for not knowing, would be like blaming a small child for not knowing how to read. I cannot blame them for things which they haven’t been taught yet, for things they don’t yet understand.
And third, the admonishment that they not judge because they would be summarily judged on entrance to the afterlife. I have no right to judge these people, and though the human side of me still does from time to time, I believe that they will be judged, whether here or there, and that I need not complicate my life with such matters.
Perhaps this life is all we have. If so, I would so hate ruining it by hating other people and going about making others and myself miserable. Perhaps we are all born into hell and are reincarnated lifetime after lifetime until we learn the fundamental truths of existence and are allowed to move on. If so, I would like to think I am already ahead in the running. And perhaps their faith is correct, that when this is all over there are two places one can go. Whether I go to eternal salvation or eternal damnation, the people here will still live on, they will carry my memory, even if for a short time. I think it best to set an example and try and leave those who are living with an example that might allow them to live a happy life.
That all being said, I have but one point left to make. I am happy.
After a carefree childhood, the dark years, the reemergence and on to today, it hasn’t been an easy life, but it has been fun. Nothing will make them angrier than to hear such a thing. That someone like me, despite their best efforts to break my people down, is still happy, will likely make them hate me even more.
I say let them. I have but one life ahead of me, and I intend to use it as best I can. They squander theirs away trying to make others just as miserable as they themselves are. But I will be happy.
I have love, family, friends, community, and a knowledge that lets me see this world for what it is and what I want it to be. I am happy.
But it must also be said that what they now do will make life much harder for both my people and myself. Things that were once simply difficult will now present odds of success that are slim to none.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take slim to none any day.
The times ahead are tough, but me must be happy, we must be strong, we must love and support one another before everything else. The fights will be fought. They will be won and lost. The wars may rage, but back home we will still be together, we will still be family.
And for that, I couldn’t be happier.
posted by Jake at 11:35 AM
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