"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
It has become quite clear that we, as a nation, have an issue with understanding that we are all equal. No one person's life is anymore important than another. We are all made up the same way.
We, as a nation, have decided that violence is an acceptable tool in fixing disagreements. We have people trying to kill Presidential candidates, Police officers, African Americans, Gay people, Children, Church People, etc. Why do we find it acceptable to enact violence to solve our problems? Violence incites violence incites violence, which incites more violence. In order for us to peaceably reach an understanding of true equality, we must all recognize that someone's skin color, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or class does not make them any more or less human than anyone else. At the end of the day, we all have the same needs. Food, water, love, a place to sleep, and warmth. Sure, we all have different ways of reaching those needs, but the principle is still the same.
There is not one type of person that should be more valuable than anyone else. When you walk down the street, you shouldn't look at someone who is different than you and be uppity. You should remember that somewhere in this world, there is someone who cares about that person. They could be struggling with something, whether it be finances, marital, physical, or mental. We all need to love each other. We may have opposing views about different topics, but we should never want to harm another individual. There needs to be appropriate actions taken in response to these tragedies. We need to show unity. Major leaders creating civil discussions.
All lives matter. Black lives matter. White lives matter. Asian lives matter. Native American lives matter. Hispanic American lives matter. Gay lives matter. Straight lives matter. Transgender lives matter. Christian lives matter. Muslim lives matter. Atheist lives matter. Poor people's lives matter. Rich people's lives matter. Working people's lives matter. Disabled people's lives matter. American lives matter.
ALL LIVES MATTER.
Until we can look past the things that divide us, we will never truly find peace. We must find out that all these dividing factors do not matter.
