Following reader comments and listening to others, it’s hard to imagine not being accepted.
We are sure this happens, but apparently we never were fully aware of how bad it can be.
It has been almost 200 years since President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, yet some natives (as far back as a generation or two ago) still felt the sting of its message.
What other messages are we sending as a society?
We preach tolerance and acceptance, but do we practice it?
The only people who were native to what we call the United States are the Native Americans.
If you are not a Native American, your family came here from another country.
As you listen to some people, acceptance today is almost comical like the character Frank Burns in the old television series M*A*S*H*.
Burns, who we will try to quote on individualism said, “Individualism is great as long as we all do it together.”
Well, truth is, if you are an individual, there is no doing it together.
While some of the protests today do not make a lot of sense, the desire to be different and be your own person does.
We see people who look, act, or believe differently than we do and while they have that right, many want to point fingers and criticize.
We live in a great country, state, and we would argue the best county across the land, but at times we feel we could be so much better.
Our society talks about morals, ethics, and standards, but is capable of being down-right mean.
Do we have different people judging? Do we not often see one person or group held to a different standard that others?
When you play a game or participate in something, even at work, you desire consistency and a standard so you understand what is expected.
Today, we have little consistency.
What is fine today is often not so tomorrow.
We aren’t urging you to go out and change the world, it can’t be done overnight, any way.
What can be done is changing your own little corner.
If we change do that, pretty soon we all can change for the better.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Our View – Nov. 24, 2012