I just saw the most amazing sight. I was outside smoking a cigarette, and one of my neighbors was out walking his dogs. I thought nothing of it at first. They were walking, and about two minutes later a cat was walking, well, more like prancing down the street behind them. It first looked the cat was trying to keep her distance from the man and his dogs, but, when he returned with his dogs, the cat was walking, side by side with him and the dogs. It was the most amazing sight. Two creatures, natural enemies, walking side by side, enjoying the night air. And its not like they were all about the same size. The dogs were mastiffs. The cat, a tomcat. Yet, there they were. walking together like friends.
I think to myself, wow, to see animals, walking together with no fear, nor animosity towards each other, yet, us, the most intelligent species on this planet, and we can’t seem to get along with each other to save our own lives. We have uncovered advanced mathematics, put a monkey in space, a man on the moon, discovered ways to help control our fears and emotions, yet, we lack the intelligence to understand one another. We learned to use this intelligence to discover faster more efficient ways of killing each other. Is it that we lack the intelligence? Or the patience to deal with people who think, look, act, and are just different than ourselves? We feel the incessant need to control everything and everyone, disregarding what they think, feel, or believe. Why? I still don’t know. I don’t think I ever will.
We go on, blaming everyone for our problems, taking no responsibility for our actions. My dog ate my homework; my mom didn’t wake me up; hey, it’s not my fault, satan made me do it! He looked at me wrong, so I killed him. She called me a slut, so me and my friends beat her up. Give me a fucking break. The best one, yet. Iraq is harboring terrorists, so, we’re going to invade, take over, and put ourselves into a situation that we can’t get out of, regardless of how much we want to. We allow ourselves to be lied to, and yet all we do is blame the politician who lied to us. When we get fed up with the lies, we start to cry 1st amendment violations when we don’t follow the rules.
Don’t get me a wrong. I am a firm believer in the freedom of press, speech, and religion, and everything else the 1st Amendment grants us. And it upsets me that the Supreme Court denies these very rights to the students attending high schools! It is important that someone, particularly the young, feel safe and trusts the system that we have. The US Constitution doesn’t start with "We the People, who are of voting age." It starts with "We the people, of the United States of America." It is very all-inclusive. So, why are we denying these basic rights to high school students? The same reason that parents blame the teachers when their children are reported as behavioral problems. No one is teaching them responsibility. No one understands the basic principle that with great freedom, comes great responsibility. We need to understand that our actions affect everyone around us. What we say, what we do, how we act; we are not machines programmed to ignore ill-willed actions or comments. Yes, we need to stand up for what we believe. Yes, we need to say what we feel is wrong. Yes, we need to act against those who threaten us. But what we say and do will have a greater impact than most can foresee.
Every action has a equal and opposite reaction. Newton’s Law. It can be applied to more than just physics. But it can also be manipulated. By controlling how we think, what we say, how we act, and ultimately react, we can contort, twist, and form any situation into something that mutually favorable for everyone involved. By teaching understanding and responsibility, we not only teach someone to be a "model citizen," but we also teach them compassion. We teach them that ideas are not dangerous, regardless of what the people without them say. We teach them that resistance is healthy, revolution is necessary. Not a revolution of arms, but of ideas. Once we stop resisting, we stop thinking. We might as well give into the lies they feed us to shut us up. We might as well not bother seeing past the smoke and mirrors, as they prominently put on stage show for out entertainment. The moment we stop being angry, the moment we stop feeling.
Peaceful monks day, everyday it seems, for the freedom to practice the compassion and "good" feelings their teacher taught them. Yet, in another part of the world, soldiers die for lies their leaders told them to believe. Students die for protesting ideas their government force on them, while other students get beat up for calling fellow classmates for making disparaging comments. We have grown to take our freedoms for granted, either giving it away as though they did not matter, or using it as a phrase to hide behind. We have a right to question, we have a right to rebel, we have a right to resist. But we must remember that what we do affects everyone around us and we have to understand how that impacts everything we do.
OK, I think I need to get off of my soapbox now. I’m starting to lose my train of through.
