E Pluribus Unum - Not a Bad Idea

We should all keep in mind that there will always be bullies. There are always going to be people that were taught from an early age that they should be proud, proud of who they are, where they are from, and how they live - and that's perfectly well and good. But, out of those people, there are some that are never introduced to new ideas and viewpoints from people of another culture, never shown that those differences are equally as important to how we all live, that they should be attempted to be understood and respected. On top of this, there are fewer still that are given the idea that the way they do things is better, that fellow humans that act differently should change because it's "not right", and that those that do not wish to change are too strange or stupid to understand. My friends, we have just witnessed how a bully is made. Such people have been with us as long as there has been diversity within our species, and they will stay as long as we continue to remain even the slightest bit ignorant of each other.

This does not mean we are fighting a lost cause. We just need to make sure we don't fall prey to the same prejudice we see around us and, for some us, experience. For that, we need to realize why we should accept people and love them for their differences, no matter how contradicting our views may be. I used to be frequently harassed, once to the point where I ended up with a broken arm. I have also taken part in numerous situations where I was the one acting narrow-minded. Despite that, I love people.

I love the fact that we all live so close and interact so frequently, but still see the universe through different eyes, experience different things, and can create something no one's ever made or think of something in a way no one ever has before. We were all born into a universe of our own, with its own storyline and characters and true meaning. It's when these different and new ideas are passed between the universes that we truly begin to work for the betterment of our species together. It's a beautiful thing when a group of people don't set aside their differences, but bring them together so that a problem can be assessed from every vantage point. Just look through history, and at one point or anther you will find a great feat of engineering or literature or even politics that spread across the globe to improve the lives of everyone. This is because someone had the sense to see how the power of combined human thought and effort can create wonderful things. This is truly why we should rejoice in the diversity of the world and stand up for those who are silenced, because the occasional harmony of it all only adds to the richness of life we experience.
(This very late post is in response to The Day Of Silence - for the sake of clarity.)