Facebook tells me that 5 years ago I said this: "Looking at what this world has become after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and soooo many others fought for I can't help to feel happy because of the people I've met and life I have lived! Life without my white friends, my spanish friends, my jamaican friends, and everyone of every race and religion I've met is unfathomable to me! I love y'all!"
I love the fact that I truly believe that and was able to say that. Sadly, only 7 people liked that status (one of which was my grandmother). Only 7 other people can agree with the sentiment that having met people of different races, nationalities, colors, and religions has enriched our lives. Granted, I may have posted a status too late in the day, I may not as be as popular as I might have thought, or too many people were out grilling and didn't see that status. But only 7 people saw that and moved them enough to click a simple like button on their Facebook news feed.
If something as easy as clicking like to show that you value others who don't have the same skin color as you, or do not come from the same place as you, or do not speak the same language as you was so difficult... Then what do you feel when you hear that black people are being killed by police officers, that hate crimes against gay people are being committed, people are being killed in the streets at home and abroad, and refugees without anyplace to call a home are being refused at every turn. How do you feel about that, when something as simple as recognizing that going to your friend's Bar Mitzvah was fun and interesting even though you are a Christian?
I'm not saying that you are a soulless monster who feels nothing when confronted with pain and suffering of others in this world but you do fail to see things. You fail to see the humanity within people. You fail to see the wholeness of people. Everyone on the face of this planet is trying to live their life one day at a time, on their own terms, and trying to find meaning in it all. The great part about that is that if we all know that then most of the things we see about people aren't that scary or different. Each one of us is another separate being with our own rich story that we have been writing since the day we are born until the day we die.
Martin Luther King Jr. saw this, recognized the power these ideas have, and wanted to shape the world by it. To work together, to live together, to love together. MLK envisioned a world were skin color does not decide what jobs you might have, or who you marry, or anything that dictates your life. Only by your convictions, your hopes, your dreams, and more importantly who YOU are.
Now this dream that MLK had in mind is far from becoming reality but we can make the steps to see it come true. So look back at my Facebook status. See if it resonates with you. If it does not, then find people who does not look like you can get to know them. Share a story, make a memory, experience a slice of life with them. Then look back at my status and see if you don't feel anything anymore.
I love you all.
