Love, acceptance and compromise:

Love, acceptance and compromise (as many people more qualified than me will tell you) are pretty vital ingredients to any healthy relationship, whether it's with your Mother or your boyfriend.  

Today (Valentine's Day) I was planning to write a very different, more trivial post, but somehow something more hard hitting (and, admittedly, ranty) came out.

Source: here

It will never cease to amaze me how much energy and time people put into hatred.  You only have to read the bulk of comments on any online article, YouTube video or shared Facebook photo to witness the brutal crucifixion of both its subject and its creator.  Away from the internet, mobs of people march and protest daily to contest atheism, homosexuality, abortion and pretty much anything else you can think of.

The only thing that I could ever get THAT angry and THAT passionate about is inequality and discrimination, on every level.  Honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach.

It’s been said many times now that future generations will view this era in the same way that we now look back on slavery and racial segregation.  With shame and regret.  Nobody should suffer or be held accountable for something that is a) not their choice and b) not harming anyone else whatsoever.  

So what if an individual is black, lesbian, old, transgender, disabled, female or anything else?  They are, first and foremost, a human being, and I will relentlessly stand up for every last one of them and their right to live as happy and fulfilling a life as anyone else.

Again, it comes back to the power of hatred, but I cannot comprehend why anyone would choose to persecute and ridicule someone else over the gamble that is genetics.  Who are they to decide what is right and wrong?  Does it really make them feel superior to deny a fellow human being their happiness?  Because it makes me feel desperately sad, and I can’t be the only one.

In fact, I know I’m not.

Leaving the Neck Nominations and Beliebers aside for just one short moment, today I feel proud to be a part of my particular generation.  I feel proud to say that I, like the majority of my peers, accept my fellow human beings for not only who they are, but who they want to be.  I might be biased, but (in general) I truly believe that we are the most forward thinking and understanding people in today's society.

On that note, I feel extremely proud that my parents (despite any personal beliefs, political leanings or pressure from their generation) raised a child who knows right from wrong, and who also simultaneously understands that race, sexuality and gender are not ‘right or wrong answer’ questions.

Love who you want to love, world, and be who you want to be.  I’ve got your back.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Be nice to each other today (and every day).