I have been thinking about this a lot, especially with the end of Pride Month and Canada Day upon us, with all the attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people we see on TV, or in some folks cases their own street.
I am lucky, ‘blessed’ might be too strong of a word, an accident of birth to be born white, hetero and male, that minority that seems to rule the world though for the life of me I don’t know why! I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I did have a roof over my head, food on my table and clean clothes to wear (unless there was a mud puddle about – but that is a whole other story!). Growing up my life wasn’t perfect, nor is it now, but I was allowed to live it the way best for me, without existential fear, heck my friends even laugh once in awhile at my awful puns!
In short I was allowed to be just plain me.
Now imagine if all 8.2 billion of us humans were allowed to be just plain themselves! Imagine the advances in science, culture, the arts we would have achieved by now! Maybe we would have colonies on Mars, or a cure for cancer, or a planet that was self-sustaining for the betterment of all! Sure we would probably still have psychopaths, pedophiles and malignant narcissists, but I bet we would have a cure for that, or at least better tools to keep these people from roaming into areas they shouldn’t be!
How much knowledge have we lost by ignoring the wisdom of our First Nations elders? How many synthetic drugs today aim to emulate the healing powers of St John’s Wort, birch bark or sweat lodges? Or Turmeric, so long part of the South Asian diet that stomach cancer is almost non-existent?
Diversity is strength, people, not xenophobia, homephobia or the raving of a yellow pelted real person wannabee! Diversity is fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh ways to look at knowledge and more importantly fresh ways to care for each other!
Immigrants bring a brand new perspective to life in our country – our collective country! And heresy that it might seem to some folks, the most stable, loving and caring relationships I have seen in my life were in the LGBTQ+ community, no doubt in large part due to their shared experience and diversity from mainstream they have had to endure!
I don’t know about you, if you follow Christian faith, but I would much rather live by 1 Cor 13 than John 3:16! John 3:16 might get you to the door, but 1 Cor 13 is what gets you into the kitchen and helping set the table for others to join!
Pride Month may be over, but after the hoopla and parades the ‘fight’ will go on for recognition of diversity and the right to ‘just be’, no matter where we live. It seems sad to talk about diversity, strength and ‘fight’ all in one breath, but that is our current situation and a wake-up call for all of us to fight to achieve our true diverse strength!
Peace and hugs,
Mark
(I am generally not a ‘flashy’ person but for some reason this bracelet has really grown on me. Think I will keep wearing it as a reminder… 🙂 – ml)