My Attitude Toward Equality

Yesterday I had a conversation with someone very close to me about some of the troubles that are going on in the world, and this person expressed the opinion that "we are better than those people." And I thought, that's not what I believe in at all.

Over the years, I've been fortunate to meet a wide variety of people from all over the world, including area that the United States is in conflict with. Some people from those areas are really, really nice, while others are jerks and worse. And guess what? That's been my exact experience with people I know who are from where I'm from and have lived here all their lives. The vast majority of people are really great, but there are some jerks out there, too. Heck, at times I am a jerk, though I like to think of myself as a decent person. But treating others equally and giving them a fair chance is what I feel I was brought up to believe, no matter what someone looks like or where they're from.

To me, it seems that many people like to be around others who are like themselves. That might be OK for them, but it seems boring to me. I know and love who I am (wow, did I just say that?) so I don't need a lot of people around reinforcing that. I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds, with different points of view. It may be that that person can help open my eyes to new ways of thinking, to help me learn something new about myself. And that makes my life rich.

The awareness that keeping a diverse set of friends also makes me feel when something is missing. For example, where I live in New Hampshire, African-Americans comprise about 1% of the population, and the Hispanic population is not that large, either. That makes two large groups that I have very little experience of, compared to people who live in other parts of the country. That seems limiting to me--because of this, I feel that my life is not as rich as it potentially could be. The same applies no matter what perceived difference there is between me and someone else, be it skin color, national origin, religion, or whatever it is.

Getting back to the belief that some people are better or more worthy than others, my feeling is that is the foundation for all the conflict that exists in the world. My religion is better than yours, my way of doing things is better, my country is better, etc.

What I do believe is peace begins with me. If I am not peaceful, the world around me is not going to be peaceful. But if I am peaceful, then I can start to share that so that other people have it, too. And it's totally free to give away--giving peace away only serves to increase the supply. And that contributes to the idea expressed in my first post where everyone wins--living can be a win-win game for everyone.