Random Ramble-- I Believe

I believe deeply in humanity, in something intrinsic that makes us rational; that makes us passionate. I believe in innate goodness, and I also believe in animal instinct. I believe we have certain control over ourselves, that our psyche is ours even while shaped by things that we do not own. I believe in commonality, in a shared spirit that lives within us all. I believe in pain and suffering, in trial and error, in triumph and personal success. I believe in community.
To this extent I ask myself: how can I ever be ok with playing up so severely on stereotypes? How can I be cruel to others? How can I choose to have such loose control over things that are within my power to will?
How can hatred abound?
I speak about HUMAN RIGHTS. I cannot speak to the struggle of the African (North) American, but I can relate because I have gone through similar, albeit different and maybe more diluted, struggles. I cannot speak for the Latino, from fair to brown and every color in between. See, I am submersed in the culture, my life forever intertwined, but I am classified differently. I have very little Latino blood in me, almost a negligible amount. I, claiming to be part of this Latino culture, have been treated differently, and I can speak to that. What I can speak to the most is the struggle of the homosexual. I can speak to feelings of worthlessness because it is something that is considered wrong but is beyond you to control; I can speak to discrimination, slurs; I can speak to having those you love most reject a part of you, and therefore, feeling rejected altogether. Luckily, I cannot speak to physical violence, but I can speak to almost every other kind, and so I sympathize.
I realize now that I can speak and relate to anyone who has ever felt like the outcast; To anyone who has had low self-esteem, or fail to see their worth; To anyone who has ever felt extreme sorrow; to anyone who has ever lost something; to anyone who has felt everything, and nothing at all. And although I cannot relate to the perpetual pessimist, I can say that it is true that we have all had those feelings. In short, I can speak and relate to humanity. It is something that connects us all. It is something that eclipses geographic boundaries and political lines. It is something that transcends color, sexuality, gender, and class.
Human rights; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, as the USA standard suggests. It is not a bad standard to hold. What I want to know is, what is your standard? How do you want to make the world a better place for EVERYONE? What are you willing to sacrifice (because, undoubtedly, sacrifices have been and will continue to be made)? Can you be a visionary; can you see happiness? Can you help erase hatred?
I ask that we not only think of these questions, but that we strive to answer them, and put them in action. I ask that we brainstorm, that we discuss, that we “analyze and abstract,” as TV Reed would say. I beg of us to see that change happens, and that it starts with each and every one of us. This I firmly believe.