This was a little stream of consciousness…

“They won’t let me climb mountains…”

A short quote, but one that impacts me on different levels.

Anyone who has ever been denied an opportunity for which they have the right, anyone who has been supressed, marginalized, overlooked or outright ignored has felt the sentiment those few words convey.

The lesbian couple who can’t have their marriage recognized, the black man discreetly passed up for a promotion, the poor high school student who knows college is a pipe dream no matter what grades she gets, the farm worker who huddles in a shack after 15 hours of labor hoping he’ll get paid this week so he can send money home to his wife and kids… All of them want to yell those words.

This is the world we live in.

As Americans we are force fed marketing gimmicks, fear mongering and a false sense of security through credit. I think it’s ridiculous to say there is a grand plan to keep this country full of sheep but there is a destructive force created by the melding of consumerism, entertainment and economic and military superiority. It is human to rest on laurels. We have become too… sated. Once in a while, we are poked and prodded to scare us into this direction or that one. And in that, I find the only overt malevolence.

No wonder I had to explain to a gay white guy why people wear Obama shirts, or revere Selina or have holidays that aren’t celebrated by most people in the US.

He’s comfortable.

He doesn’t feel the need to learn. He has surrounded himself with people just like him. They all agree. Why bother? I’m sure people he meets that are nothing like him are either uninteresting, scary or pushed out of his mind by Britney’s new song or the shoes his friend just bought (and that he MUST have).

I have more respect for my conservative friends who may not understand me being gay, but by God they have every intention of accepting the fact that I am and even though it’s a million miles from who they are, they plan on keeping me in their lives. What I am nausiated by is people who have it good ENOUGH. Good enough so they don’t feel the need to be better. Good enough so they don’t feel the need to experience new things or people or places. Good enough so that they think they are BETTER. Because God forbid someone makes them look NOT good enough.

So they bash you for your religion. They bash you for your clothes. They bash you for your success. They bash you for your openness. They bash you for your skin color or who you love. They bash you for your SELF. You would make them look bad otherwise. So they are gonna take you a notch down.

And what are you gonna do?

You are gonna help them climb mountains.