autographedcat

"It is because they are external that these racial differences strike us
so forcibly, and we automatically assume that differences of similar
magnitude exist below the surface, in the rest of our genetic makeup. This
is simply not so: the remainder of our genetic makeup hardly differs at all."
--Professor Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza, in _The Great Human Diasporas_

A friend of mine quoted this on the IRC channel we hang out on today. It got me to thinking about differences.

I have always been a bit iconoclastic. WhenI was younger, I dealt with being different from other people by elevating being different to an art form. I was an outcast because I CHOSE to march to my own drummer, and if other people didn't like that, that was their hang up, not mine. As a result of this, I've always been very tolerant of how other people choose to live their life. Perhaps I might not choose to live my life that way, but anything that someone wants to do that doesn't hurt other people, well that's ok with me.

There are differences we are born with. Most of these don't really matter much, if you think about it. To hate someone for the color of their skin or the place they were born, you may as well hate people based on eye color or hair color or handedness. One of the more surreal moments in my life was being accused of being a racist because I didn't stop to consider that someone was black. "Does that matter?" I asked. I was genuinely surprised. "Of course it matters!" he replied. "I'm black, and you have to take that into account."

Seems to me the only way we're ever going to evolve and grow above this sort of petty division is if we all start to realize that what a person looks like tells you nothing about what kind of person they are. Character is defined by the life you choose to lead, not the life you were born into.

There are differences we choose. What kind of lifestyle you lead, who you want to sleep with, and how. What kind of music you like. How you like to dress. What religion you choose follow, or not to follow. Sex and Religion are the two biggest flashpoints in our society, and I don't get either one.

First sex. Sex is fun. It feels good, it's enjoyable. And you know what? It's not the least bit sacred. Let's go back to that concept of "Anything people do that doesn't hurt other people." I think that any kind of sexual act that occurs through the mutual consent of all parties involved is quite all right. This includes lots of things that I personally wouldn't do. I have friends who are gay. I have friends that are into BDSM. I have friends that are into groups. They all have a great time doing the things they do, and no one's getting hurt. So why the big hangup in our society about sex? I hear people all the time say how so-and-so is "wrong" for engaging in some act, and I think "How does what that person does, in the privacy of their own home, affect you in any way whatsoever?" Why do we feel the need to control what other people do with themselves?

Religion is a similar hangup in our society. Personally, I believe that whatever gets you close to center and helps you deal with your relationship to the universe is a good and healthy thing. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian, a Jew, a pagan, a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, whatever. My only problem with religion is when people start using it to get into other peoples lives and force them to deal with the universe the same way. Go find your own path, and walk it and live it and get closer to God-as-you-understand-him-or-her, and let everyone else do the same thing.

I guess what frustrates me the most is that we spend so much time concentrating on our differences that we don't spend enough time concentrating on the things that can bring us together. Because if we ever want to realize true peace and harmony on this planet, each other is all that we really have.