This is not my photograph, I am respectfully borrowing it for my post.

I try not to write about politics or religion because I am not that qualified in the subjects that I can speak intelligently. Also, I realize that my opinion is not the opinion of everyone and we have enough people who spout their opinions freely. But these last few weeks have me wanting to voice my opinion, this one time.

I am outraged about the hateful debate about the Confederate Flag. I abhor that this country allowed slavery; The Land of the Free should never have allowed that to happen. I believe most Americans feel the same way. I am truly sorry it happened, but is it not time to start looking at what is happening today? It is estimated in the United States alone there are up to 17,500 (number is probably higher) people sold into human trafficking a year. These horrific people sell children, women and men into what can only be considered slavery. The victims are forced to work inhumane hours as indentured servants or they are sold into a life so horrible that the average sex slave (for lack of a better word) is only expected to live for two years before they are completely used up or dead. Is that not more important than yelling the “F” word to each other about a flag?

Gay marriage was in the news a lot lately. With this particular debate always comes the debate of Christian versus everyone else. I am a Christian and I am proud of it. With that said, I know many more people who are not Christian than who are. We have agreed to disagree. They know where I stand and I know where they stand. In my small circle of friends, we work to try to live together in harmony and mutual respect.

We do live in a country that was founded on religious freedoms, so why are those freedoms being taken away daily. I believe that, and this assumes no one gets hurt, killed or maimed, you should be allowed to live religiously.   Wearing a bomb around your waist and walking into a mall should NEVER be a sign of religious freedom. I think we all agree on that. But if you follow the laws that dictate human decency and respect, you should be able to freely live out your religious beliefs. You should be able to do that without fear of some random person shooting up a church.

As for the people who do not have any particular religious affiliation, I understand that also. There was a time in my life when I was more like that. I understand and respect their choice, now they need to do the same for me. Taking away every single symbol and sign of Christianity does not seem respectful in any way. I cannot believe that the symbol of the Ten Commandments makes non-Christian people so uncomfortable that they require them to be removed from every public building. If the symbol makes you uncomfortable, simply walk past it. Why can’t we live with tolerance and respect?

On Facebook today, I saw a post of a dog defecating on a picture of the President of the United States of America. I do not happen to personally think our current President is doing right by the people of this country, but I still believe we, as the American people, should show a more respect than that. He is our leader and was voted in by the people of this country, not to mention he is still a human being.

With that being said, all the political fighting back and forth between them and us is not helping the American economy. That should be the focus of everyone in this country. More and more layoffs are being planned, small businesses are closing daily and many workers are underemployed and over worked. How many of us are still reeling from the downturn in 2008? Is not the economy more important to be dealing with then spewing hate toward our President?

Please do not get me wrong, I do not have the answers. I barely understand the questions, but it seems to me the media would rather have the American people look at all the things that offend us, instead of bringing us all together to make this a better, safer and more workable place to live. I am not silly enough to think we can have Utopia, which will never happen. Nirvana is only the name of a 90s grunge band. But we do not have to fight each other on every single platform. We do not need to hate each other because of skin color, economic status, job type, gender, religious beliefs or any other unimportant symbol of “status.”

We need to come together to make a world where our children can safely play outside again without fear of being taken or hurt, a place where people can work and contribute to the economy, where everyone has a sense of dignity and purpose, where you are free to worship without fear of being killed, a place where children can go to school to learn and not be bullied or abused in any way and a place where you are free to express yourself, non-violently, without the constant fear of offending someone.

We are all in this together and no one gets out alive, so why do we have to make the journey from birth to death even harder than it has to be with so much diversion and animosity? We need Common Sense, Basic Human Manners and Mutual Respect to come back, and we need it now.

Thank you for reading my rant. I am not trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers, but we all need to stop talking for a moment and think before we speak. We all need to think outside of our own little world, myself included, and see the bigger picture. We can all make a change if we quit fighting one another and show love and respect.