DIFFERENT: Is not wrong

It seems the world presents us with qualities we desire and some we don’t, with features we understand and some we don’t, and so on. Contrasts exist and the world around us seems not tailored solely to our personal tastes, but rather to its own varied forms of expression.

The early Greeks believed that man was made up of mind, body and spirit. In our society it is traditional to establish the gender of a child by their physicality at birth. This is before the other aspects of the child have time to grow and find expression. In short, the book is defined by its cover. For many people this has been successful, but for some it has not. Is this something we can be more considerate of?

Can we make room in our world for each other, even those unlike us? It would take some courage to accept people whose view of life differs from ours. Can we accept the reality that there are people unlike us, live and let live, embracing the Golden Rule? It might take some understanding of and a mutual respect for our differences.

To reach such an understanding could require being open to what has transpired in the history of our nation and the world. To know that people can oppress and brutalize others, yet can also live together peacefully. The choice is ours. If we could only hold the view that different is not wrong, it is just different.

ERNEST WARNER

Coeur d’Alene