The first discipline of non-violence is to honor every human being
as a unique soul-body, refusing to identify them by race, gender,
religion, or political party.
Yet just as much as right-wing movements, today's "progressive"
movement often promote conflict and division by labeling individual
Persons by their group identity. Some of us who talk about "diversity"
actually stifle it, because real diversity is not to promote tribalism
[or nationalism], but to recognize the incomparable [unique]
Personhood of individuals. [As it also says in the Declaration of
Independence].
It is much easier to hate a category than a Person, whether your
animosity is toward Muslims or Christians, "black people", or
"white people", liberals or conservatives.
The beginning of world peace is to free each human soul-body from
racial, political, or religious abstractions. Our incidental association
with a group is not who we really are.
I do not identify my Self [True Inner Being] as a color, as rich or poor.
capitalist or socialist, Republican or Democrat, Christian or
Pagan, [or American]. I am neither "good"nor "evil." Those are just
conceptual chains with which your mind attempts to enthrall me. But
I am not your concept of me:
you are.
If you want to superimpose a group identity on me, that is your act
of violence against the singularity of my Personhood. You are free to
label me, but I am also free... I refuse to identify with your label...
I Am who I Am...
[brackets mine]
~
My note: It's an act of aggression when we impose prejudicial categories and labels on "others"; when we don't see that we are all a unique expression of our shared Core Beingness; when we've been enculturated to hate "other" people's cultures through fear because they are not like "us"... We are all "free" when we recognize each other's Core Beingness as our own, and the diverseness of our individuality that expresses that Beingness and treat each other with respect and compassion.
And, oh btw, we are all immigrants here, unless you were born 100% Native American. I am .2% Native American, but the rest of "me" comes from other countries, other cultures. My English ancestors arrived here in the 1600-1700s and populated much of New England, and evidently somebody intermarried with a Native American. My Irish and Scottish ancestors arrived probably in the 1800s and intermarried with the English ancestors, and my Norwegian ancestors arrived int he late 1800s, intermarrying with... well you get the idea. We are mongrels! :) Essentially, however, we all share an Essential Beingness far beyond our ancestry, our humanness, far beyond personalities and character traits, beliefs, patriotism, opinions, DNA and intelligence. And we are inherently Free to Be who and what we are!
And on another note: My father was greeted by the Statue of Liberty coming back from Europe on a ship with thousands of other soldiers, (given to America by the French, btw), after serving in WWII at age 19-20 in Germany, being hit in the face with shrapnel from "enemy" mortar fire. That was his path, his journey, and that of his generation - to fight "the enemy" for an idealized freedom... I don't think he (or that generation) understood things with the same "spiritual" lens that I do, but he did what he felt was right at the time, believing it was the right thing to do. And I respect him for that, because his perceptions were different, although his war experience wounded him emotionally for life. But he not only fought for America, he fought for the freedom of the Europeans in Northern Europe as well, and for the hope of freedom in the world... And yet we are still fighting! Building walls instead of welcoming statues of liberty - because "we"/humanity (in general) lack the understanding of Who we all essentially are...
Namaste
_/\_
~
Photo -
via Stillness Speaks
