Differing Views

something has really been weighing heavy on my mind lately.

i was raised in a home where people were all equal. granted, not all of the five family members believed that as strongly as others. but I was taught to treat everyone the same. regardless of gender, race, religious background, sexuality, etc.

i grew up with friends from all walks of life. in high school, one of my friends was jewish, and another an immigrant from iraq. one was a black kid [the only one in my high school] who had moved from brooklyn. a few were gay. openly so. some were from broken homes, others not. some were well off, others on the closer end to poor.

safe to say, i was friends with, and accept, everyone.

but I know that not everyone was that lucky. [at least, that's how I see it -- lucky to have been blessed with parents that opened my eyes to ALL the beauty in the world.] some people were raised to believe that one race is better. or one religion is always right. or that some people just shouldn't have the same given rights that the rest of us take for granted.

i've never been one to preach what I believe. i don't bother trying to change anyone's mind. it's not worth it. whatever argument i may have, i'm sure they have heard from someone else, sometime in their life. and clearly, it didn't change their mind on how they felt then. so what is my argument going to do? nothing, probably. why waste my time?

i make it known how I feel. but I usually leave it at that.

but what do you do when the person who has completely different views on life is your spouse? do you just never breach the topics? especially since you  both are passionate about what and why you feel the way you do. do you talk about it when it comes up, and essentially wind up arguing about it and just ignoring each other for awhile after? agree to disagree? try to see the other side?

and what do you do about your children?

i feel like i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. honestly ... i want to scream. but I just don't know how to go about the issue. i know how I feel. what I believe. and nothing will ever change my mind on that.

and i know that no matter what my children do, say or become, i will love them. hard. long. For the rest of their life. nothing can or will change that. no relationship they find themselves in, regardless of the person's gender, race or religion. whether it happens to be the same as theirs or not. i will accept and love my children every day.

my only hope is that they spend their lives doing something that makes them happy. everything else is just in the details. i only wish everyone else felt the same way that I do. this world would be a much easier place to get along.