I have a Right

Before you judge, hear me out, as in read this entire blog with an open mind! I don’t normally do the “heavy” sort of thing, but this is one opinion I wanted to share. Yesterday, I learned what the red flag with the equal symbol floating around Facebook meant. And I have to say that I am proud of my decision to change my profile picture to show my support.  And this is why:

First, let me say, I am no historian and therefore some facts may not be exactly accurate, but this is my opinion. Our country was founded on religious freedoms. The whole point in some English men getting on a boat for a month or so, half of them dying in the process and then fighting some natives was so that you could have the right to your opinion, one form being Christianity.

Fast forward a few years, say the 1960’s and people began to fight for Civil Rights. As a woman, this has worked out pretty well for me. As I sat a work today, enjoying my job, I had the thought:

“Prior to the Civil Rights movement, in a country prided on their religion, Christian men didn’t think that I should have the same rights because I was a woman. This “man” thought that because it was his opinion, that it was the ONLY opinion.  How could any other opinion be correct if it differed from his? He is a Christian, his forefather’s founded this country, it must be so.”

Another part of the Civil Rights movement was the desegregation movement.

I have a big sister, who has the best husband and two beautiful boys. She is NOT one of the countless women who are abused by their husbands. They have NOT ended their marriage in divorce as 50 % of the country does. They have NOT had affairs behind each other’s backs. They HAVE been together for almost 20 years. They ARE an inspiration in their parenting and their love for each other. My brother in law, who I love dearly and his family, well he is African American. And again I had this thought:

“Prior to the Civil Rights movement, in a country prided on it's religion, Christian men didn’t think that African American’s should have the same rights. The color of a man’s skin made him more or less of a human depending on the pigment he was born with. This “man” thought that because it was his opinion, that it was the ONLY opinion. How could any other opinion be correct if it differed from his? He is a Christian, his forefather’s founded this country, it must be so.”

So I say all that, to say this.

I whole heartedly think you should believe in your religion, your faith, your ideas and morals whatever they may be. I do not believe you should tell someone that because their belief is different that they are wrong.

If you are a woman, you should stand up for others, because once upon a time someone stood up for you. Without someone thinking differently than the “Man” in the 1960’s, you would still be oppressed. You would not have the right to your opinion in religion, politics or the work place. You would never excel or find wealth in your profession.

If you are of another race, you should be thankful someone believed in a world where you could be an equal, where you were granted the same freedoms that a white man had. Without someone believing that there was another way, you would still be on a plantation, slaving away for nothing.

And if you are the White Man, you should be thankful that you have grown wiser than those that came before you. That you can choose to allow someone to have a different opinion without hating them and still maintain your own beliefs.

I am not asking you to change who you are or what you believe in, I am asking that you “love thy neighbor as thy brother” no matter what they believe. I am asking “thou shall not judge” just because it’s not what you would choose for yourself.  

I am asking you to believe in LOVE.

I am asking you to straddle the fence. To believe that two opinions can differ and still one not be wrong. I am asking you to believe that two people who love each other to the depths of their soul is worth cherishing, no matter what gender they are. The world has enough hate, let love provail.