In this day and age, we need to think about the prejudices we all have.  When left to our own devices, we create a world view based only on our own experiences.  The proliferation of prejudices has exponentially grown in number and intensity. Fear-mongering and intolerance are spreading like crazy.  These sentiments, and the ubiquitous use of negative “isms” has made the world a dangerous place for many people. Racism, sexism, ageism, nationalism, anti-antisemitism, nativism  and cronyism are some of the “isms” we hear or read about on a regular basis.  Homophobia and xenophobia have become rampant and people have joined together in hatred of the “other.” Our culture has become mean-spirited.  The actions committed in the name of these hatreds are more than menacing. They rip at the fabric of our humanity and threaten to destroy us.

These attitudes are found in multiple places in the world.  It has become acceptable to hate each other, even though every religion and all good people know better.  The teachings of all the major religions of the world are in harmony with the things that make us good people.  Caring for one another, loving our neighbor, feeding the poor, taking care of the unfortunate and being responsible for our actions, are all agreed upon as the right way to live a good life in our shared society.

It saddens me to see what we are becoming as human beings.  I know that hatred has existed forever in all of history, but we must not succumb to acts of hatred and division.  In unity, things are better for everyone. We, each of us, can become forces for good or evil. And there are many degrees of all the actions that we take, or don’t take.  But, being in a world where we believe that peace is possible, and where inclusion can become commonplace, starts within each person. And, that means you and me. What happens next is in our hands.  The decisions we make today, will decide our collective future.  We have so much to gain and too much to lose if our actions don’t work for the good of us all.  We have important choices to make and things we must do to bring them about. We must choose wisely.