The 60's were a time filled with wars and riots. The gay rights movement had just begun, the war in Vietnam was happening and student rights activists were growing as well as women fighting for equal pay. The Civil Rights movement was in affect and black rights became of importance. That decade brought us tragedy, but it also brought us empowerment to fight for the change we want to see; and by the 70's the world was ready for peace and love, not war.
It is now 2016 and we have made very little progress.
It is 2016 and we are still starting wars over equality, or lack there of.
It is 2016 and people are still dying over race and religion.
It has been almost 60 years since then and we still have to fight for our rights. Gays still have to fight for their rights, women still have to fight for their rights, African Americans still have to fight for their rights; but why? Didn't we already fight these battles many, many years ago? Why are we stuck in the past? Why are we still dividing ourselves almost 60 years later after we fought to be equal?
In 1971, after the 60's tore the world apart, John Lennon wrote his hit song 'Imagine'. This song was intended to open people's eyes to the fact that we are all humans and we are all equals, can you even imagine thinking such a thing!? It has been 45 years since Lennon wrote that song, but it still has some valuable lessons for us to learn today.
Imagine this:
Imagine living in the moment, instead of living for some form of reward or punishment. Imagine just being grateful that you woke up and you are alive and you get to experience the world today. Imagine just living life, living life however you want without putting imaginary constraints in your head.
Imagine a world with no separation. A world where we didn't segregate ourselves based off of where we grew up, what color our skin is, or what religion we are. Imagine not caring what a person's background is, and treating them like a fellow human. If we didn't set these boundaries for ourselves we would live a much more peaceful life.
Imagine a world where people didn't value their life based off of possessions. A world where people would rather spend their money on helping people rather than having the greatest and most expensive material items. Imagine a world where people shared their wealth and we could all thrive together, instead of some people dying of hunger while others live in mansions and drive luxurious cars.
Now imagine the world we live in now.
It is 2016 and the world has been torn to shreds. Gay people are being killed in clubs, black people are being killed by cops and cops are being killed by protesters. Americans still think all Muslims are terrorists and men still think they are more important than women.
It's 2016 and some people still believe that they are better than others because of the color of their skin or their religion.
It's 2016 and we have yet to realize that we are all humans and we are all equals.
It's 2016 and we need to realize that if we want to happily and peacefully thrive and survive in this world we must learn to coexist. We must learn to overcome the boundaries we set up in our minds. We must stop killing each other over race and religion. Life is precious and too easily taken away from some people. If we can learn to come together for who we really are, which is humans, the world will live as one.
