A Heavy Heart

I feel incredibly blessed to be carrying a baby girl right now; however, all of the news stories in the past week have me really struggling with what kind of world I am bringing her into. The most recent story of the shooting in Orlando just breaks my heart. I have always had a hard time processing how someone can hate another group of people so much simply for their religion, the color of their skin, their sexual preference, etc. It just seems that our world is becoming more and more hateful each day and that scares me.

All I know is that I want  my girl to grow up feeling loved, being tolerant and accepting of others, and spreading positive energy. I want her to feel safe and to know that there is justice in the world...even when I can't quite see it myself. I never thought of myself as a feminist until I was in college and I read/saw/participated in the play The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. I was quite moved to be a part of this amazing movement about ending violence against women. The story of the sexual assault in Stanford really hit home recently.

I know that as a college student, I was not always perfect and I certainly drank too much at times; however, that absolutely never granted anyone permission to violate me in any way, shape, or form. The fact that other women have had to experience this type of violence AND are unable to get justice for the crimes committed against them is disheartening and unacceptable. I have been completely disgusted by the letters written by the perpetrators parents as well. All of us need to take responsibility for our actions and understand that no matter how "good" you've tried to be, some choices are an absolute deal-breaker. No amount of good deeds done previously negate the consequences of your decision to take someone else's rights away from them. There just seems to be such a lack of empathy for other people. When did we become such a selfish, close-minded society? I pray that my daughter will find a group of women (like I did in college) that will watch out for her, keep her safe, and help her make good decisions when it comes to having fun. I realize that I am all over the place with this post, but I just have so many things running through my brain right now. I actually looked into how to become a lobbyist because I feel that strongly about this situation. I don't know that I would ever actually be qualified to change legislation or make a difference politically in this particular situation, but I do know that I am tired of sitting idly by while so many are suffering.

The gay rights movement has also been something I have always felt connected to as well. I have so many friends who experience bigotry because of their sexual preference, the way they dress, or how they are perceived. I cannot fathom shooting another human being for any reason other than self-defense. It sickens me that someone can be so hateful toward a group of strangers. You have no clue what any of these people have been through in their lives and you have no right to extinguish someone else's light because you want them to be stuck in the darkness with you.

My heart goes out to all of the families of people who have been affected by these tragedies. I hope that those of us who will be raising kids in the next 10 years or so will focus on teaching them responsibility, empathy, tolerance, and steer them away from entitlement. I don't know if anything I have written here makes sense or is logical, but I do know that I want to make the world a better place and if no one ever stands up for what is right, we aren't going to get anywhere. I think we all need to show each other more love, more forgiveness, and more empathy if we are going to make it.

Comments

  1. I always tend to agree with so much of what you say and post. I love your compassion and empathy and often feel the same. But instead of thinking of the world as growing in hate, I think it is more that it is gradually changing so that people who have to remain in the shadows and darkness and hide who they are really are (or what happened to them) out of shame and rejection are now starting to be more and more open and there is unfortunately some terrible happenings as well. But just one way to see it in a different light rather than becoming more hateful persay.

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