I know this really doesn't fit under any of the titles that my blogs are categorized by, but, it's something I need to express.
To me, the difference between acceptance and tolerance is that there is very little that separate them besides how a person feels about the situation involved. Accepting something is like just living with it and saying that it can't be changed. Tolerating the same situation is like knowing it can be changed but just letting it go. You want to change or fix it but you don't feel like it. In other words, acceptance is a positive way to look at life and tolerating it is the negative view on it. No one is stuck in how their life is. You can take control of anything that is thrown at you. That isn't my focus of this post though. Not the difference in how people view their life, but how things in society are viewed. Also, how being different is a good thing no matter what society wants us to believe.
I knew early on in life that I was not like other people or children my age. To be aware of it kind of made it harder to get past. Like in one of my last posts, I talk about how being an overweight child and the treatment I received still affects me today. How we grow up does shape how we live the rest of our lives. This, also, isn't what I want to focus on. It's just how i was out-casted and not fully accepted. Even today, I am not fully accepted. I'm just different and I'm ok with that.
Ok, to my real meaning for this post. Their is so much hatred in the world and the main problem is people not accepting people for who they are. No matter how you look at an issue you choose to study, it always stems back to tolerance instead of acceptance. The major points or subject areas i want to cover are same sex marriage, interracial couples, transgender individuals, difference in religion, racial discrimination, and society's need to make everyone feel like there is only one such thing as a "norm".
Now, for Catholics and most religions, a marriage is supposed to be between a woman and a man. Marriage isn't just about the joining of these two people. There is so much more to marriage than a male and female becoming one person through a sacrament. If this was the case, why do most marriages, within these institutions, have to be both recognized by a church and the government? No one saves themselves for marriage like they used to and I am sure i'm one of the few still planning on doing that. Anyways, most people have sex with their chosen partner before they even consider marriage. Now how is this right if most religions preach to wait until marriage, and yet, when people of the same sex want to become married, people have a fit? For me, marriage is the joining of two individuals who have decided to spend the rest of theirs lives with that other person. To me, if someone loves another person enough to solely be with that one person, why can't they get married? If you take away the religious definition of marriage, then what is marriage? It is exactly that. A joining of two lovers as one to be together for the rest of their living lives. Straight people like throwing judgement at homosexual couples because they see it as wrong or as something that only straight people should get to have. How can a person deny someone else happiness? Welcome to the world....and this is why people need to change their view on everything. Honestly, how is a marriage between two people of the same sex going to affect your life? It really isn't going to. It's your opinions and tolerance that get in the way. People accept people for who they are and what they decide to do with their lives. Why can't everyone think this way? United States? Really? We are the farthest from being united...
This next subject is close to my heart because I have only had one boyfriend and he is black. I'm one of the whitest people you will see and he is quite dark. We do get looks when we go out together but i give people a look like what is your problem. I do not see colors, shades, or a difference from one person to the next. My boyfriend has stuck with me through the hardest times of my life, and yes we do fight, but, we work through it and grow closer. How is it wrong, once again, to be happy? It's not. So what if our children may be mixed and be more dark than light. They are going to be human just like the next person. For those who are like, "How will they decide what they are? Black or White?" News flash people, they're both!!! People hate other people being different from themselves. If we were all the same, the world would be a bland place to live. Our diversities help makes us who we are. Humanity isn't a color but a rainbow of different types of people. Get past the outside and learn who a person is and not just what they look like.
Now, this next subject is hard for a lot of people to accept. A transgender person goes their whole life sometimes in turmoil trying to be something they aren't. I feel for these people because they may have born a female but feel like they are a male stuck in that body. They may also look like a man but have a more feminine essence about them. Is this wrong either? No. It is how they were born. None of this is by choice. People also do not understand that. They think that being a homosexual or being transgender is something a person can help. They really can't and what does society want to do? Change them. The world will never fully accept the person sitting next to them or the next person they walk by. The first thing a human does is observe then they pass judgement. You may say that is how we "choose" who to "associate" with but why can't we be friends with everyone? It's our heads and minds that stop us, leaving our hearts behind.
Religion is also where a lot of the world's wars and conflicts originate from. Just because we do not share the same beliefs does not make us any less acceptable. How we were raised also effects how we view others. Religion is just an institution to divide humanity even more. Yes, we all want to believe in a higher power and an eternal life after death. I'm not too sure anymore that there is either anymore. I'm more focused on how much the world is losing itself in its own peril. The end is close, and well, I'm ready to fight any fight that i have to, I'm here for humankind and I am slowly realizing my purpose.
Race is also another way for others to discriminate anyone who doesn't look like them. So what if he's black, she's white, or he's hispanic? Maybe he's asian but she's japanese? Why do we feel the need to label each other? Can't we all just be humans? We aren't separated by our genetics or backgrounds unless we allow ourselves to be. Maybe that's our true problem: we want to be placed in a category to have a place in this world. Instead of doing that, why can't we just help each other out and accept our differences? that's way too easy for the population of this world to comprehend and do.
The last thing I want to talk about is our need to fit the "norm" that society decides is a "norm". Whether you are talking about a "physical" look or a "mental" normality, there truly is no such thing as a "norm". No one is perfect and everyone has a flaw of some kind. No one needs to be as skinny as a tent pole, needs to starve themselves to fit in or try to fit in clothes than no one should be wearing. Being skinny isn't always healthy. Also, with the mental part, I am one who has fought depression on my own for my whole life. If I have moments where I want to cry, it's hard to hold it back anymore. I let myself cry no matter where I am. A lot has to do with not feeling accepted due to my size, my various gifts, and being a loner. Not all of those things were my fault or choice. Being socially accepted may never happen for me or everyone, but, I know I am learning to accept myself. I just wish everyone didn't feel the need to have to be that "norm". I want people to feel free to express themselves may it be with their sexuality, their opinions or talents. Just don't allow yourself to fall into the pull of society because why do you want others to make a definition of what you should be instead of how you want to be? I finally realize that I can't be anything but myself. If people can't handle that, they can get going. I am through with also being cast aside because I am different. Accept the difference you have. They are what make you, you. They make you special! Own them and triumph or this cold, heartless, world we live in.
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