My wish for the world is this…
I wish I could say tomorrow will be different. That we could wake up without the fear of tomorrow possibly being our last. I wish there was a way to put a warning label on death or a way for everyone to understand the pains of other races.
I wish I could go a few hours without seeing terror flash across my computer screen. It would be nice to have some nightly news that was boring instead of bloody.
I wish guns shot butterflies instead of bullets. I wish there was a way to destroy prejudice in one fell swoop. Some days, I wish we were all one shade of gray. But then again, I wish we could all see the beauty in variety; that people would stop trying to define normal.
I wish we would stop wondering who was right and who was wrong, as if leaning left or leaning right made a difference. We need to stop blaming each other for problems that go past our own borders.
I wish people would stop deciding another human's life is worth less than their own. I wish the mortal would stop trying to play God.
If only we could all see how we form the world around us. I wish we would try and give everyone an equal chance at playing this game called life.
I wish we could all be 5 years old forever. That our childlike wonder and acceptance wouldn't fade as our days form into decades.
I wish there was some certainty that minds will change. That in the future we will be more civilized and smarter than we seem today.
I wish my dreams for the future would stop wavering. I can't understand why everything seems to be going backwards.
I wish everyone would stand together: black, blue, rainbow and white. I wish people would just throw out their hate for one damn day and love instead.
I wish my words were as strong as actions. That this article could change the world. I wish it was all enough, all that simple, but alone I know it's not.
So I'm done wishing. I'm done dreaming. I'm done wondering. It's time to start acting. It's time to stand up for empathy and equality. I'm asking everyone to do the same. For once, let's all try being pro-people.
Do it for Orlando. Do it for Istanbul. Do it for Baghdad. Do it for St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Dallas. Do it for every place in past and present, where lives were taken by people filled with fear and hate.
That, and that alone, is my real wish for this world.