Racism at Home

Canada, the true north strong and free. What that means to me is a promise, the promise of liberty. This country has been built on the idea of multiculturalism, people coming together despite their differences to do more and to build a future. Look at what we have built these last 150 years, a country we can be proud of to stand united under the red and white. We are building something beautiful here together not in spite of the differences between us, but because of them. We have learned from each other, bonded and evolved the meaning of what it is to be Canadian. We are a country of many peoples, many faiths and beliefs, differing genders, orientations and colors.

It doesn't matter who you are, the color or your skin, but the content of your character that matters most. None of us are perfect, we are not meant to be, but each of us brings something important to the table. All of us represent a story, a piece to the puzzle that makes up this great nation and each story needs to be heard. When we start to separate ourselves by hate we damage what it means to be human. Any act of violence, be it verbal, physical or emotional, is an attack upon us all.When you use stupid reasons like hatred and intolerance to take away the rights of another individual you make it easier for your rights to one day be lost as well. We are all just people, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, cousins, brothers, sisters. We are all connected and we just want good lives for the ones we love. We want to secure that perfect future for who we deem to be our people. The thing is, we are all one people, one race under The Divine, all of us human.

Human, a word that we use to define ourselves from one end to another. A term we use to express our heartfelt regret or joy or to explain away our mistakes as being "only human." We are all flawed, scared, fearful beings who turn to our fellow man not in love and companionship, but in fear. This fear is prevalent in everything we do from our elections that demand we choose one candidate over another. The winner decided not for what he or she can do for the nation, but for the sheer size and success of their smear campaign against the other. It's in our movies and television shows that force brothers and sisters to choose sides when really it should only be one side, the side of the human race. I know many may read this and think I'm being over dramatic, but the only thing that is over dramatic is how we look for reasons to be fearful, we look for something that will separate us out of fear of being lost in the crowd.

The fact is, it's easier to fear and hate. It's the easiest solution to allow yourself to become blinded by your fear of the unknown. Hatred is how fearful people defend themselves for they are too afraid to trust. This fear eats away at us individually and globally like a cancer. Fear forces good men and women to fight and kill and name each other for a variety of reasons and this violence only perpetuates the same cycle of fear and despair that has nearly eclipsed our global society.

I don't believe that all people are evil in nature I feel that it's a combination of things, a number of small or large tragedies that force us from our understanding of ourselves and the world at large and makes us cold and hard. We all just want that perfect future but you will never secure that future if all you see are enemies. I am just as guilty of this fear that plagues us all but we need to break free of the chains that have held us for far too long. We need to remember that its not your people or my people we are all one people no matter the distinction.

For that perfect future to be realized we need to work everyday to create a better world for all of us. We are all connected and like ripples in the water we may one day be affected by the stones cast by another looking for their own personal search for security. I do not have all of the answers nor do I know all of the questions but I know that we need to try. We need to stop teaching hatred and intolerance to the next generation by force or by accident. Make them the best of you and allow them to decide who they like and whom they can love. Show them love in a world filled with hate and I promise you they will help change the world.

We all can be harbingers of that perfect future through small acts of kindness and tolerance. These everyday miracles like standing up peacefully for someone being insulted or degraded. Smiling at a stranger as you pass them by or holding the door open for another lost person. These small acts of kindness help to show another struggling soul that there is still love to be found in this world and that my friends is the closest thing to magic you will ever get. We each have the power to either make someone's day or break it, to save someone's life or to cause its end and the end of us all.

I know that this is asking a lot from everyone, to shake off the chains of hatred and intolerance that have shackled the human race since its inception. I know it will not be easy—in fact it will be the hardest thing we as a people have ever done. To end this civil war that has been raging between various factions of humanity for as long as we have existed, but I promise you it's worth it. We need to stop focusing on the differences that rip us apart and look to the beauty of what we share and what we can build together.

I am no fool. I know there are dangerous people in this world who hate and wish to harm but please do not allow yourself to be one of them. Defend yourselves—to do anything less would be foolish—but never stop defending others. Do better for yourself and those you love and live everyday a little brighter than the previous and slowly we can make a better world for everyone.

The only way that humankind will continue to exist is if we learn to co-exist. There is no difference between us that cannot be surpassed together. We need to stand for each other whenever and wherever possible to show the world that we can live in harmony. It's up to each of us the legacy we leave and what Canada will become, a country ruled by fear or liberated by unity. "You either create a world for everyone or else you will end up in a world fit for no one."

Thank you.