What does being a good person mean to you? Does it mean you are kind to others? Does it mean you never make mistakes? Is it determined by your religious affiliations? What factors do you take into consideration when you decide whether or not someone is "good" or "bad"? I ask this because I am often surprised by how quick we are to judge someone based on such minimal amounts of information.
I read an article this morning about several Atheist groups who attempted to volunteer their time and money to help out the less fortunate. They reached out to some Christian organizations to offer their assistance, and were turned away. Not because they weren't needed, but because of their lack of similar beliefs. Apparently, these Christian groups think that in order to do good, you must have the same exact views as they do. That makes exactly zero sense. Just because you see the world with a different perspective, does not make you more or less "good".
A person's religion (or lack of) is a very personal matter. Most people, including Atheists, do not go into these things lightly. There are many factors that can determine how someone chooses to view the world. For one to assume that you are not capable of kindness, or to deny someone the chance to do something selfless, based solely on one part of their makeup is insanity.
These same ideas apply to many different areas where people are quick to judge.
Is a person's value determined by their skin color? There are certainly people who think so. Why? Because it is different than theirs. And different is "bad", right? It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But it happens every day. We make snap judgments about others based on something as trivial as that, all the time.
If you're Gay, you can't be a good parent. If you're a woman, you can't be strong & decisive. If you're a man, you can't have emotions. If you're a black man, you must be good at sports, but be a terrible father. If you're blond, you must be stupid. Do any of these sound familiar? They should, because we see and hear them all the time.
We live in a world filled with amazing, brilliant, wonderful people, but many of us never discover that, because we are too busy assuming we know what kind of people they are, without knowing anything worthwhile about them.
Being a "good" or "bad" person isn't determined by your skin color, your hair color, your sex, your religion, your sexual orientation, your financial status, or any of the like. What makes you good or bad is how you treat others. Do you care about the well being of the less fortunate? Do you reach out to those in need? Do you treat people with the same level of respect, kindness, and compassion that you want in return? Judgment is a two way street. If you don't want to be judged harshly, then don't judge others harshly. If you want to determine how good or bad another person is, get to know them first. You may be surprised. We preach "Only God can judge." but we don't live it. We quote the Golden Rule, but we don't practice it. We mistakenly think the only "good" people are the ones who think, dress, look, and act just like us, because of course, WE are good people, so they must be too, right? Not necessarily.
Whether you agree with someone's beliefs, share their core values, or follow the same moral guidelines, does not mean they can or can't be a good person. We need to stop making these things mutually exclusive.
It's Wednesday morning, the day after the election. I open my facebook newsfeed to see endless negativity and hate. All because one man beat another man in a popularity contest. Is this high school or America??
This isn't about who has the better hair, who looks better on camera, or even who is right or wrong. Elections have become a giant pissing contest. Instead of talking about what they plan to do for our nation, they end up focusing on slandering each other. Debates are arm wrestling matches between two giant children. Political ads are catering to idiots with ugly lies and half truths. This needs to end. Democrat or Republican, I don't care. We are all on the same team. This is America. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. Health, happiness, a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, the comfort of knowing we are safe in our own homes, job security, a good, solid education for ourselves and our children and freedom. Does that about cover the basics? Rich, poor, christian, atheist, gay, straight, black, white, male or female. We all want the same things. Are we really so selfish that we cannot see that? Is it honestly acceptable to think that one group of people deserves more or better than another? Because I'm pretty sure Hitler thought the same thing. Are we striving to be like him? Our ancestors came to this land and started this country on the idea that everyone deserves to be equal. That freedom meant you wouldn't be persecuted for your individual beliefs. That a nation could be run not by a religious group, or a rich king, but by the people. We are those people. We fought long and hard for these rights, yet we forget what they really mean. We are in this together. We are a team. And there is no I in team. Remember in school, when you were taught that it's not about winning or losing, that it's how you play the game? That afterwards, you shook hands with the other team and said "Good game." and you meant it. That was being gracious. A term that we are growing very unfamiliar with in this country. And don't get me started on teamwork. Even Michael Jordan knew when to pass the ball. In almost every team sport there is offense and defense. They have two different jobs, they do very different things, but they are on the same team. They work towards the same goal. Is this concept so insane? Why can't political parties do the same thing? Aren't we all working towards the same goal? Don't we all want those same things I mentioned before? Then why are we fighting each other? There is this thing called compromise. Maybe some of you are familiar with it. It's where two groups work together to come up with a plan that works towards the benefit of everyone. Yes, everyone. Not just a few. Is this really so hard? Maybe if we stopped fighting each other so much and spent less time worried about who is right or wrong, and winning or losing, and more time compromising, things would actually get accomplished. That's crazy talk, I know. Instead of trying to convince the world that your beliefs/views are the ONLY ones, how about focusing on the bigger picture. If you think having good and affordable medical care is the bottom line, then stop bickering over whether or not it covers birth control or abortions and make it happen. Leave the rest up to the people. Don't believe in abortion? Great, then don't get one. It doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be an option. You don't see the blind lady bitching that her insurance covers glasses, do you? No, because it doesn't affect her, so why should she care? Basic wants and needs are universal. Marriage is the legal commitment of ones love. That's the bottom line. Oh, so your personal religion believes that marriage is only between a man and a woman? Then don't hold gay weddings at your church. Simple as that. But withholding another human's rights based on your personal beliefs is exactly what we came to this country to avoid, is it not? Then why are we still even talking about these things? Your personal beliefs, religious affiliations, and sexual preferences are your own to sort out. Not mine, or anyone else's. They should never even be brought into debate on a public scale. Doing this makes us no better than the men who burned women at the stake for being witches because they bled when they were stabbed. And it makes just about as much sense. Government cannot control everything, nor should it. There is fact and opinion. Politics should deal in facts. Period. Are you entitled to your opinion? Yes. But, guess what. So is everyone else. Are we going to agree on everything? Not a fat chance. But that's the beauty of it. We don't have to. But we do have to live together. So why not do it in peace? Why not compromise and give everyone the chance at having a good and happy life? Why can't we agree to disagree on the unnecessary details, and just do what is best? Is this really so hard? Stop and take a second to examine your life. Are all your friends the same sex as you? Are they all the same religion? Do you all make the same amount of money? No? Well fancy that. You have different views and lifestyles, yet you are still friends. You probably argue from time to time, but you still love each other. You agree to disagree. You compromise. See! We ARE capable of this. If we can do it on a small scale, then it is really so hard to do it on a large one?
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It's as simple and basic as that.
