When did we become a society of conformity? When did it become a bad thing to differ in opinion or to decide to do things differently? When did we decide to no longer have respect for humans?
Lately, the world has turned into a place that will shame you for being different. We claim that everyone has the right to their own voice, but only if that voice aligns with your own. We shout for freedom of speech, but shun anyone who speaks too loudly about topics you don't agree with. We no longer turn a blind eye, but yell and curse and scream until we have proved we are right. And most often, our screaming is done by the few clicks of a keyboard. We feel we can hide behind a bright screen, yet say we are standing for our beliefs. We condemn those who ripple the pond in ways we don't want it to.
My mother taught me something when I was very little. She said, "Taylor, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." My mother taught all her daughters to be proud, independent, strong women who knew what we wanted out of life and weren't afraid to fight for it, yet never once did she say scream and yell at others to get there. She never told us to hate others who were different or thought differently from us. We weren't instructed to scream the loudest to prove we are "right".
Right is a strange word. It has so many means. Being RIGHT is all about perception. It is about your point of view and how your brain processes information. We are not clones of one another, neither are our brains.
We scream that war needs to end, the fighting needs to stop. Yet when will we stop condemning our neighbors for thinking differently than we do? When we will be done saying how ignorant everyone is when all they do is process information differently.
Every social media post does not require a response. You don't agree with them? I have a brilliant new invention for you. It's called..... wait for it.... scroll down. Or better yet, exit out and go live.
Take it from someone who knows how quickly the rug can get pulled out from under you. Each day is a gift. A chance to help our fellow men. The opportunity to make someones day a little brighter. A chance to call a cease fire to the war we've created that is only against each other. A war where no one is "right" no one is going to come out conqueror. A war that only hurts, never heals. Who are we trying to free when we are battling those around us? Ourselves?
I'll let you in on a little secret. That war was won a long time ago.
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