The wall.
The immigration ban.
The principle is clear, but I think that the one-liner that we are using is not. Because I think it’s more about keeping America great than making it great again. And we are great when we are good. Full of good people. And we are great when we are cultured. Full of diversity. And we are great when we are accepting of differences. Full of heart.
And “the wall’ is this physical object that carries along the most symbolically dense meanings. Walls separate. Ironically, walls are built up, but often at the cost of tearing others apart.
And maybe instead of putting up barriers between people, instead of projecting the control of human differences as the epitome of “greatness,” we should be trying to break them down instead.
Breaking down walls between ethnicities. Breaking down walls between gender and sexual orientation and socioeconomic status and religious affiliations. Breaking down the walls between you and me and all of things that make us different.
Building relationships, not walls.
Building friendships, not walls.
Building peace, not walls.
Building acceptance, not walls.
Building each other up, not walls.
To believe in the idea that people who don’t look like us, people who didn’t grow up where we did in the way that we did are somehow a threat, to quantify terrorism as a habit of certain ethnicities over others is just the purest mix of ignorance and privilege.
Yes, safety is important, but identifying and broadening hazards as certain groups of people is dangerous. Not only that: it's just wrong.
I think we get too wrapped up in the game. Too wrapped up in the sides. Too wrapped up in believing the people that we are told to believe. Too set in our beliefs that we aren't willing to consider anything else. Too set in building up our own high walls, our own interpretations of the world, that we realize we cannot see over them anymore.
But people, people are not a game. And call me an optimist, but it’s really not that hard to look for the best in people when they’ve given you no reason not to.
And maybe this is simplified, but it’s also not that hard to step back from it all if you want to. To step back from the consumption of media and power and think about basic humanism. Treating people well because we all share the greatest commonality: being human.
What if we start embracing that?
