Be the Peace the World Needs

For you younger kids, the world was not always so ugly as it is now. 

I grew up in a time when there was peace. 

You could play outside with your friends until the street lights came on. 

If we got a really good snow, (up in Seattle area) you could play ALL night, sledding (my mom was cool that way). 

You could walk to and from school (1.5 miles, literally uphill both ways. REALLY) without fear of people kidnapping you. 

We walked to the mall, biked all over the place, hung out at friend's house without fear. 

TV was only scary if you watched Dark Shadows (google it), or Nightmare Theater on Friday nights. 

No, there wasn't internet, thankfully. But we still had fun.

And if you wanted to talk on the phone, you had to be home to do it, and attached to whatever room the phone was in. And it was still fun.

We weren't suspicious of our neighbors. 

I didn't care if the kids I went to school with were any different color than I was. They were still my friends.

I didn't care if I had friends that liked someone that was the same sex they were. I never noticed. I didn't care. They were still my friends. 

We had hippies, and guys my dad called "Ferlas" (fellas and girls- they were guys with long hair. My dad thought he was funny haha).

People didn't sue other people because they could. 

If you accidentally bumped into someone's car in a parking lot, they looked at the car, said "No problem!" and drove away.

It was really a very happy, safe place to be.

Guns aren't what has made the world so scary because we had them in the world when I was growing up too. We weren't afraid.

It is humans that have made this world so scary. Evil, mean, thoughtless, hateful humans. Humans who hate other humans because of their lifestyle, because of their color, because of their religion. Humans who prey on the weak because they can. Humans who take pleasure in hurting other people because it gives them power. 

And it makes me so sad. 

We need to be the ones to make the change if we are going to see any change. 

Stop hating other people. 

Stop being rude to other people. 

Stop hating someone because they don't agree with your politics or your lifestyle or your religion. 

Or you don't agree with theirs. 

That is still wrong. 

You want acceptance and tolerance? Then BE accepting and tolerant. To EVERYONE.

Peace starts with us.

Be accepting of other people. Show love for other people. 

We were born to love, not hate. 

When did we decide that hate was a better choice?