It’s time to look inside ourselves and help others
It’s time to look inside ourselves and help others
When was the last time you’ve looked at our flag, absorbed what it really means, what it stands for?
It has 50 stars, not 30, or 13 or one. It doesn’t stand for one party, one class of people, or one race. It stands for all of us, together. The freedom we speak so loosely about means that we should have the right to worship God anywhere and any time we choose, without being shamed or ostracized in doing so. It also means that our neighbors can choose their beliefs or lack of, without fear of the same. A man, woman or family should be able to speak in whatever language they choose with pride of heritage and without ridicule.
Once upon a time we said, “Give us your hungry, your tired, your poor.” We sheltered those who were down on their luck, we helped those who were in need. I watch in sadness as we leave the task of protecting our brothers and sisters being persecuted in their homelands to other nations, to take in the bulk of refugees with nowhere to go.
We speak in heated debates of throwing up a wall to keep out drug dealers and terrorists, yet leave the other border wide open, where they could come across Canada just as easily. Could the true purpose of the proposed wall actually be to stop a certain class of people who only want a better way for their families, to feed their children or to keep them safe from those who would do them harm? Isn’t this the reason our ancestors came here years ago, or have we forgotten?
Maybe it’s time for each of us to look inside ourselves, and contemplate how much tolerance we really have toward one another. It gets difficult if we’re being honest with ourselves, when other beliefs, cultures or opinions on government differ from our own.
Maybe it’s time we took back the mindset we once had when we founded our country years ago, that everyone in the United States was truly free and equal, back when our country had a heart.
The direction we are going with our animosities, fears and lack of compassion can be changed — the only thing standing in the way is ourselves. Let’s not leave this to our children, as so many previous generations have done. Instead, teach the children with our thoughts and actions in living with and treating other human beings with respect and honor.
Steve Sudela
Kailua-Kona