Sunday, May 22, 2011

Love without borders?

I am inspired by a phrase Scottie uttered in comments at his post; "I am continually amazed by the degree of hate humans can have towards one another"....or something like that. It led me to think of this song; a song many who are conservative find frightening and subversive.

But, for the moment, let us imagine a world in which we had no fences to keep people out, no fences to keep them in. We held no religion of exclusion or of being "right" and therefore making other religions "wrong". Imagine a time we could love who we want, without someone hating us for loving another. Imagine the color of skin not being a point of fear, distrust, or even distaste, but a part of what makes one unique and beautiful. Imagine a world where love for your neighbor was not simply a catch phrase, but a way of life in which we really cared about people....and not just those people we can see, but those who live far away. Imagine a time where we didn't solve our conflicts with guns but with talk, with love, even agreeing to disagree and still love each other. Imagine a life that didn't need to be cut short so some dictator, president, or just a pompous bureaucrat wasn't flexing at the cost of a little one's life. Imagine....

We in America have been blessed, and perhaps cursed, to have lived without war on our shores.

Maybe we are ignorant because the war torn live so far from us. Maybe we see our blessing and forget the cost out of simple expediency. Maybe war is simply an evil unavoidable in a world filled with people who court hate. But, imagine....