11.06.2014

Asking Questions, Equality, and the Status Quo



I dream of a world where there is equal treatment for everyone.

Everyone is offered the same beautiful opportunities.

Everyone can thrive in the way they dream to thrive.

No one is disregarded because of their sexuality, their race, their place of birth, their gender, their time in history, their preferences, their family, their career, or ANY of their "differentness."

We don't need to be labeled, separated. We are all human.

Because of this, I end up feeling inequalities and questioning things.

Recently I experienced this as a wave of hate poured through the internet. This time directed at a woman that has painted art on rocks in National parks. Yes it's protected land, yes it's not her property, yes she was arrogant about it, yes I completely agree that nature is sacred and should be revered, yes she should have gone about her art in a more thoughtful, respectful way. I totally agree that she was in the wrong in many ways here. Is the extent of shaming and hate really necessary though?

So I posed a question, "Why is ancient Native American art on rocks ok, sacred, and even protected but modern American art on rock is bad?" This came from my deeply held belief that all people should be treated with respect. 

It was asked from a place of  concern for a deeper issue. At first I didn't even know why I felt this way until I did some soul searching. My desire for equal treatment extends much farther then to just who gets to get married.

So I question things. Why does one kind of art become sacred and one is shamed? They both are on rocks and neither artist owned the property.

Often people react negatively to something like this just because that's how is and that's how we're expected to think and react.

This brings to the second underlying reason for posing the question. If the world is going to change, if we are going to be able to make things better for future generations, we NEED to start questioning the status quo!

We need to start questioning how things are and have always been done. This is the only way to have progress. 

It's tradition, it's what's expected, it's just how our culture does things... it's what my religion teaches. This. no. longer. works.

I'm daring to dream a new reality into being. So I ask questions. I challenge so that hopefully others will start asking their own questions.