Response

America. The land of opportunity, where no matter race, religion, or gender, one can reach for their dreams and has the assurance of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. But if ones pursuit of happiness is different than someone elses, is it still the pursuit of happiness? Of course it is. One wouldn’t look down on another simply because of their choice to wear blue rather than green, especially if blue made them happy. Why? Because it is a free country and if blue makes that person happy, it has no ill effect on the way the world goes on. So if someone is allowed to make such a decision and not be questioned why isn’t this applied to the decisions one makes when it comes to their belief system?

After 9/11 there has been an immense prejudice against anyone who looks like they could possibly be Middle Eastern. If someone wears a head wrap or a burka they are automatically a terrorist in the minds of Americans. While it is an indisputable fact that radical muslims attacked our country, I cannot understand how the symbol of simply the garments that a culture wears can become synonymous with terror. I recently experienced a similar event  when, while working at Wendy’s, a couple of rather unpleasant customers came through accusing me of being a hypocrite for being Apostolic; recognizing me as such due to the skirt I was wearing.     
It just amazes me that having a certain faith can be so associated with negative traits. Why is it that even the name of a specific religion causes unsettling images within our minds? Catholics? Sex scandals. Muslims? Terrorists who just want to bomb America. Mormons? Sister wives. Jehovah's Witness? Door knocking. And now hypocrites can be added to the Apostolic resume.

What happened to the time when a faith was a positive thing? Isn’t it supposed to be a way to bring individuals together with common beliefs in an attempt to make sense of this crazy world we live in? Rather it feels as though it has just become a way to further the animosity that humans have for others that are different from themselves.

Is it fair that those on the outside can look into a culture judge the whole by the few extremist? They are able to downright insult another individual on the way that they believe, yet if the situation was reversed there would be a big backlash about it. I have been outright told that I was an idiot for posting a picture on instagram saying “Pro-God, Pro-Gun, Pro-life”. How come it is alright that a complete stranger can insult my intelligence for simply sharing a photo that expressed what I believe in, yet if I were to go and say anything about his lack of faith I would be just another Christian trying to shove Jesus down his throat.

How have we gotten to the point that just saying “I am a christian” can cause someone to look down on another individual? While there may be some in each stereotype that may have the attributes that are associated with these individuals, is it fair to make the assumption that all have these attributes.

All my life I have struggled with these stereotypes because of the lifestyle I live. As much as my religion defines my beliefs and moral center, it does not change my temperament or the personality that is me. We all face the same daily struggles. We laugh at the same jokes. We cheer for the same sports. We all watch tv and try to keep up on the latest trends.We all are just humans trying to find our way within this world. If we all are collectively one, does it really matter if someone dresses different? Does it matter if they decide to spend their time on whatever day they deem sacred, reflecting on their beliefs? In the end is time better spent focusing on why we can’t get along due to our differences? Or is better spent trying to accept the differences, and getting to understand the reasons behind their faith.

Living in America, claiming the mantras “In God we trust” and “All men are equal”, what must other countries think when they hear of our intolerance of those who are different? Our country was founded by those who wanted to have a place to worship freely, so badly it was made the very first Amendment within the Bill of Rights. More than 2 centuries later we are still facing the opposition that our predecessors faced when they founded our country. We have claimed that “you can come and worship freely”, yet at times it’s as though we should say “you can come and believe whatever you want as long as you don’t show it in public and I don’t have to hear about it.”  Would our forefathers have approved of this thinking? I’m not sure. America has made immense progress on the grounds of equality. We have had our women’s rights movements, our civil rights movements, and currently we are faced with the marriage equality movement. Certainly America’s past has not been blemish free, but with all the progress and changes that have been made to our culture shouldn’t we be past where we still look at another individual with an air of superiority for putting their faith into something different that what we believe in? 50 years from now will the words “freedom of religion” have any bearing on anything? Or will it simply be a phrase of times gone by?