Love One Another: A reflection on identity

So I loaded up my computer this morning, and I noticed that Google had something celebrating Independence Day.  I shrugged it off, since I have my own plans for today, and went about my business. But later, I pulled up that page again to do a search, and I accidentally clicked on the tab, and it took me to the "search of the day", and I saw something interesting.

This video.

That is John Cena, a 39 year old Professional Wrestler working for the WWE, among other projects he's been a part of.  Now, I'm not a fan of wrestling, and I'm definitely not a fan of his wrestling persona.  But he's been described as a "modern day Hulk Hogan", and this shows me why he's been said so.  This video, along with the Make a Wish Foundation, the USO, and cancer research, he's really doing his part to make the world a better place.

 Which brings me to the subject of this blogpost; Cena talked about patriotism and what people consider the "average US Citizen", and then talks about the number of people who compromise my country.  Cena brought up all kinds of statistics about the people who live and work here. Which made me think about how I grew up.

I'm a white, Christian male living in the Heartland of America.  And while I have fought and struggled for everything I've got, I'm actually considered part of the "privileged class"  of citizens.  There have never been any barriers to what I could have accomplished outside skill and education.  But I grew up sheltered; I never saw a black or asian or gay or trans or whatever growing up until a certain point (not knowingly for the last two as a kid, but still).  I had to overcome a LOT of preconceived notions as I grew up in order to be the man I am today.  I mean, I didn't meet a black kid until I was almost 12 years old!  That's a long time to not be exposed to someone with a different skin pigmentation than me!

It wasn't until I was 18 and joined the military when I was truly immersed with people from different cultural backgrounds; black, white, hispanic, asian, city dwellers and country folks.  I had never dealt with so many people so different than me before, and I was in a situation where "you WILL work together with each other, and you will do it well, or you're getting in trouble".  Between that and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I grew up a LOT at that point.

But the world's different now.  In the last 15 years, not only has gay marriage been legalized in all 50 states, but we've got a black President who is about to complete his second term.  Both of those are a HUGE deal for my country, especially when you consider our history.  I won't go into a great deal of history, but between the enslavement of black people for a good chunk of our history, the Ku Klux Klan's "anti-black, anti-jew, anti-gay" thing, the Black Panthers "anti-white, anti-gay" thing, and the more recent "muslim terrorist" thing, we've come a long way in acceptance of others.

But we've still got a long way to go.  The concept of transgender individuals is becoming a big deal in the media, with Bruce Jenner being the face of the community, and that idiot trying to record women in public restrooms and claiming that he's trans, these individuals are going to have a hard time for a while before they are accepted. But, despite my misanthropy, I do believe that acceptance will be what happens.  Because there's two constants about humanity; we are incredibly resistant to to change, but we are extremely adaptable to it.

So I leave you a Bible verse as well as my normal sign off. Something that was said almost 2000 years ago that applies more today than it ever did;

""A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34.

But for now, take what Mr. Cena and I have said to heart, and stay beautiful freaks!