To Be or Not to Be – Indivisible?
Indivisible is defined as unable to be divided or separated. In this piece, it denotes that which appears in our Pledge of Allegiance. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army officer in the Civil War who later authored a book on how to teach patriotism to children in public schools. (Wikipedia, 2024)
The American republic was founded on a set of beliefs that were tested during the Revolutionary War. Among them was the idea that all people are created equal, whether European, Native American, or African American, and that these people have fundamental rights, such as liberty, free speech, freedom of religion, due process of law, and freedom of assembly. America’s revolutionaries openly discussed these concepts. Many Americans agreed with them, but some found that the ideology was far more acceptable in the abstract than in practice. (Library of Congress, 2024)
Since its inception, individuals have stood for and demanded freedom. We, as a nation, must strive to accept every individual as he/she is. But do we?
In this nation we affectionately refer to as a melting pot, we have white males, white females, Black Males, Black Females, Hispanic Males, Hispanic Females, and the list goes on. There are numerous types of religion practiced in the United States and around the world. Some of the major types include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Baha’i Faith, Wicca and other Neopagan religions, Native American religions (Best Diplomats, 2024). We have gay males and lesbian females. There are transgender (trans for short) persons who identify as a gender other than the one they were born. This should not be confused with Drag performers who are entertainers; individuals who express themselves on stage as a particular persona but are not living as such.
Not to omitted: Non-binary or gender neutral (people who do not identify with any gender), Furries; individuals who say they are furries. Therians are individuals who believe they are not completely human and instead identify as a species of non-human animal. Otherkin; individuals who believe they are not completely human and, instead identify as a mythical or fantasy-based being. (Research Gate, 2024)
As a baby-boomer, I feel as though we are discovering new identities to accept every other day. Not meaning disrespect, but I struggle with pronouns (something I have not done since third grade).
Here is how I break this down in my own mind: I respect and welcome all people of all nationalities, races, and creeds. In fact, I embrace getting to know more about each. I know many people who live as gay and lesbian and, while I am fully aware of their identifying and living as such, do not feel a need to focus on it. It’s not so much a don’t ask, don’t tell. More anything of a sexual nature is personal and private.
Drag performers, I find, quite entertaining. While I do not fully understand how the art form came about, I am not offended by it and have taken in a show or two which I thoroughly enjoyed. Furries, I have only recently been made aware of and have never actually met someone who said they were. After reading several different articles from respected sources, the notion that schools are providing kitty litter boxes for furries to use is a myth. Difficult as it may be to follow this down the rabbit hole (no pun intended) it simply is not going on. The Otherkin and Therians I have never heard of before today.
Not meaning to be facetious, but if I were to declare myself to be a lioness and I hunt, attack, and consume my next-door neighbor, is my only necessary defense that this behavior is inherent to who I am and therefore, neither illegal nor offensive? Is it simply nature? We are living in a day and time where everything is accommodated and if questioned, reprimands ensue. We can and will go from the sublime to the ridiculous in record time. In truth, there are varying levels of understanding for all the descriptors…except for these next two:
Democrats and Republicans
A case can and has been made for every single distinction mentioned but those. As the 2024 election draws nearer, the rhetoric, hate speech and accusations are at an all time high. This environment of distrust has become so prevalent, it is no wonder that the two sides of the aisle have difficulty finding common ground. I only speak for myself, but the more I identify and categorize people, the more I draw a line of separation between myself and them, and I just don’t like doing that. My preference is to look for the things I like about a person and build on that.
A vote is a vote. We get one each. That’s it. In the end we have a winner, and that individual has a promise to live up to. Do Democrats and Republicans hate each other so that merely identifying as such has become the deal breaker? We can accept every other distinction. But not that?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. (Federal Trade Commission, 2024) It is necessary that we remove the specification (from employment) and include political affiliation?
One Nation, Under God, Indivisible – with liberty and justice for all. Please tell me this is not why we have stopped saying it. ☹
References:
Best Diplomats, 2024, retrieved from the world wide web on August 4, 2024 from https://bestdiplomats.org/different-religions-in-the-us/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20home%20to%20a%20wide%20range%20of,American%20religions%2C%20and%20many%20others.
Library of Congress, 2024, retrieved from the world wide web on August 4, 2024 from https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/founded-on-a-set-of-beliefs.html#:~:text=Among%20them%20was%20the%20idea,revolutionaries%20openly%20discussed%20these%20concepts.
Research Gate, 2024, retrieved from the world wide web on August 4, 2024 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319483229_Furries_therians_and_otherkin_oh_my_What_do_all_those_words_mean_anyway#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20furries%20are%20individuals,mythical%20or%20fantasy%2Dbased%20being.
Wikipedia, 2024, retrieved from the world wide web on August 4, 2024 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance