Approximately 353,000 babies are born each day around the world. The majority of these babies are born to loving mothers and families. Their arrival is usually followed by tears of happiness, and feelings of joy and utter disbelief that such a miracle has happened before their very eyes. Each day, 353,000 babies make the world stop for just a moment to rejoice in something so pure and innocent: a life to watch unfold, a binding element for families, and a new adventure for parents.
Each day, 353,000 babies are born to parents with different skin colors, parents in same-sex relationships, and parents who belong to different religions and churches. These babies are taken home by their families and celebrated in ways that look different to the naked eye, but are fundamentally the same. Families may clink glasses with different drinks, or sing songs with different beats, or pray to different gods, thanking them for this amazing miracle. Yet, each new parent and family member thinks about the miracle before them, is scared about somehow messing up, and is hopeful that they will raise a happy and healthy child. The miracle of life is celebrated similarly by a majority of people across the globe, so why is it that when we get older, we cannot come together to celebrate having made it this far?
When and how did we come to the conclusion that none of this matters? That the only things that decide whether someone is similar to us is if we have the same skin color or worship the same god or are attracted to the same sex? When did we, as the human race, decide that everyone whose life looks differently than our own must be insane? How did we get to the point where violence is the only answer? Killing and torturing is the new way to deal with misunderstanding, it seems. Seeing someone with a different skin color or kissing someone of the same sex is grounds for taking their lives and making sure that they never get to fall in love or walk down the aisle or feel the things I described above when their child is born.
Since we cannot understand how others live differently than us, we have made life's pleasures unenjoyable. A simple trip to the movies or mall holds the fear that you may never see daylight again. Children in schools who should be learning numbers and letters are taught how to hide and not make a sound in case a bad guy is roaming the hallways. We are living in fear, now more than ever, and still refuse to support each other because we believe that we are so drastically different. We would rather kill someone else because we are so scared of being similar, scared of destroying the hierarchy engraved in us since the beginning of time: one that puts the idea of normality in our minds as white, straight, and conservative.
How did we get here and how do we fix this? It is like we are turning the clocks back ourselves, making history repeat over and over again until we reach our limit. I think that we are pretty close, that it is getting out of hand and the more it continues to happen, the harder it is to reverse the clocks. While the question of gun laws and security is at the forefront of this fight, we can start by hating each other a little less and trying to see the humanity in each other through teary eyes.
