I was ordering food in last night for my daughter and me and as I scrolled through all the options of restaurants to choose from I thought, if only people every day could think of America like this. An enormous option of menus to explore. Asian, Italian, Indian, Greek, Jamaican, German, Middle Eastern, Mexican and on and on.
We are nothing without our differences. What has made America beautiful isn’t big houses and bank accounts, large cars and WHITE SKIN – -it’s the stories of people who came here from all over the world to build from scratch a better life. Who found freedom and opportunity and a voice for the first time. Who appreciate freedom far more than those who were born into it.
We are NOTHING without the colors and languages and creations we have here. Nothing. Look around and you’ll find art, clothing, music and, yes, food from everywhere. Isn’t that wonderful? Imagine only eating the same thing every day. Wearing the same thing every day. Looking at and listening to the same thing every single day. That’s NOT America. And if it ever becomes that I’m moving.
None of us are born to hate differences. It is most certainly taught. And right now we have a man in the White House who is working very hard to teach hate every day. From the language he uses to the examples he gives to the laws he wants to impose – he wants us all to be afraid of each other, to fight with each other, and for a certain few, to feel superior to each other.
Why? I keep wondering why.
I will continue to raise my daughter to know love. To appreciate what we have to learn from others. To listen to stories from people whose language we don’t speak but whose heart we can understand.
When next you say, what are you in the mood for to eat? — pause for a moment and think about all the choices you have. Now put a face to them, a life, a family, a history, a struggle, a success, a dream…
That is America.