Disclaimer: This post was prompted by the discussion I heard on the radio this morning about the Ann Coulter appearance on The View yesterday. I'm not trying to stir the pot with anyone I know in real life, just stating my own opinions and beliefs. To be perfectly clear, political party is not the issue here.
There are certain words in our society that have very negative connotations and awful history behind them. The type of words that elicit a reaction of shock each time you hear them, because they are used so infrequently today. I'm not talking about the F-Bomb, which I, myself, am guilty of using excessively, I'm talking about a select few words that are so offensive and so disgusting that I'm not even going to tell you what they start with. I'm sure you can guess.
It baffles me that these words are still tossed around so casually by some people. When I think about the world that I have brought a child into I want to be hopeful that we're on our way to making it a better place.
The morning after Obama's election my great Aunt Carol (great as in ancestral, and great as in awesome) sent a beautifully-written email to her friends and family expressing how emotional this political milestone was for her. I read it over and over, so amazed that this new feeling of hope was not just limited to my own generation, but shared across many generations, the young and the old(er) alike. Reading her words about how far our society has come since she was a little girl gave me chills and increased my excitement that maybe we could all work together to have a positive impact on future generations. I'm hopeful that we will someday live in a society where gender/race/religion/sexuality are only afterthoughts.
When I hear the kind of filth I discussed above slide out of someone's mouth today, especially by an individual not much older that I am, some of that hope is lessened.
I suppose it's naive to think that a child born even today can grow up without ever hearing these words. As much as we like to think about how far we've come, there will always be those who refuse to bend and insist on tainting future generations with their hate-filled ideals. Maybe Baby Charlie's future Baby Charlie will have a linguistic repertoire that doesn't include these terms. The cynical side of me finds it hard to believe, but there is still a part of me that hopes....
I think what I admire the most about you is that you truly want to save the world.
ReplyDeleteOn topic, I hear ya. I still hold on to the same hopes you discuss here. While it will certainly be a much longer process than either one of us would like, it is getting better, slowly but surely. Yes there is still a LONG way to go to defeat sexism/racism/creedism/sexualityism etc, but if history has shown us anything, its that this is a long process. There is an extraordinary amount of ignorance out there.
All one can really do is try to set the example for those around them, and (of particular pertinence to you ;) ) raise all the children one may have to do the same. Do this consistently enough and hate and ignorance will eventually crumble in upon themselves from their own weight. Will it be our generation, or Baby C's, or that of his children? Probably not. I do have faith, however, that if those of open mind keep fighting the good fight, there will eventually be a society where people are truly judged, if I may, "by the content of their character" before anything else.
(Yeah I think I just did some preaching on your blog. My bad ;) )
Sherm, you can preach on my blog whenever you want :)
ReplyDeletei agree, close-mindedness can be a very painfull thing. its really important to be open minded, thoughtfull, and considerate of others fealings and well being. if we are to get any where in the world today we need to take others well being as seriosuly as our own. this is america after all, a melting pot. and beyond racisms and the like, emotionally and physically even if it means taking time out to help a stranger or some one you know. sorry if i got off topic, things on my mind is all :/
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ReplyDeleteHooray for Jene and people with big, beautiful dreams and high ideals. May this all come to be very soon. Perhaps we could take John Lennon's song,"Imagine",and if we all work on this imaging,on a daily basis, we can bring it all to reality much sooner
ReplyDeleteHooray for Jene and people with big, beautiful dreams and high ideals. May this all come to be very soon. Perhaps we could take John Lennon's song,"Imagine",and if we all work on this imaging,on a daily basis, we can bring it all to reality much sooner
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