My Hope

I created this post for my Facebook status last night but I want to save it as a reminder to myself when I am feeling persnickity so I am going to post it here as well.

I am currently 47 years old. In my lifetime we have seen interracial marriage legalized and the Civil Rights Acts of 1968, 1991, 2008 enacted. Yet we still haven't gotten it through our collective skulls that equal rights means EQUAL rights.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence (you know, that little document drafted in 1776 that began this country) begins: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It does not say "All men are created equal EXCEPT..." or "as long as their idea of happiness coincides with mine."

Now, I figure I have 20-30 years left on this planet. It is my sincere hope that, before I die, we will finally see truly equal rights for ALL of our citizens- white, black, young, old, gay, straight, male, female. It is my hope that we stop with all of the hatred and treat one another with respect. That we stop trying to legislate other people's bedrooms, other people's faiths, other people's bodies and worry about leaving a great legacy for our children and grandchildren. Let's stop leaving a mess for our next generation and get to leaving an example of how to take care of our families, our neighborhood, our cities and our planet.