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Be sure to check out the Education page for more information on the Youth Group programs. And the Current Newsletter for special activities.
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-by Allison Wolfe, Youth Sunday, April 22, 2007
When I sat down to write this, I thought What the heck am I going to write? I have plenty of strong views and ideals, but if I don’t say it right, it might not be that powerful. Well, there really is no easy way to tell you all I want to say. But I gotta start somewhere….
I guess I’ll start with my environment: my school. Not a day goes by that I am not astonished at the audacity of teenagers these days. They throw racial remarks at each other like it doesn’t mean a thing, like it’s everyday conversation. The hate is sometimes so thick it’s hard to breathe. Students cuss out their teachers. Fights are a daily occurrence. Friendships are thrown out the window over a miniscule disagreement. People I don’t even know rip me to shreds with their words. Like in Farenheit 451, Clarisse says: “I am afraid of my own kind”. What happened to the values we once withheld? Our virtues? Our ideals? They’ve been tossed out the window along with everything else! [pause]
My high school is an accurate example of our society today. We have a lot of the same problems. Hate, prejudice, injustice, and violence. [lil pause] For example, on the news, every single day, there are multiple stories about hate crimes, war, abuse, robberies, murders, and shootings. I know this may sound cliché, but can’t we all just get along? Why does it matter what race you are? Why does it matter what religion you practice? And why does it matter what your sexual orientation is?
Now I feel very strong about this last one. Our poster over there says: “All Love Is Love”. I STRONGLY believe this to be true. I don’t get why some people say it’s wrong that two people of the same sex can’t love each other like spouses do. How do they know? They haven’t experienced that kind of love. They have no idea whether or not it is true. And plus, who ever said they can’t love each other? Who said it wasn’t allowed? Some people claim it says so in the bible, but you can interpret that different ways, according to your own perspective. But I’m not going to get into that because I’m not knowledgeable in that area. My point is, basically, that all love is love. (I love that statement) Who are we to spell out what exactly love is? Love is love is love. Why does our society feel we have to control people’s emotions? Is it that they feel threatened by differences? Do they really want everybody to be the same? [pause]
And back to my other questions: What does it matter what religion you practice? It is so sad to hear that a family car got destroyed because they are Jewish. Or that a man got beat up because he is Muslim. Isn’t one of the ten commandments to love thy neighbor? And didn’t Jesus say to shake hands with your enemy? So there is absolutely no excuse for these crimes. If you hate them, shake hands with them. If you don’t hate them, love ‘em anyway. It’s as simple as that. As simple as two words: getting along. Or for those of us who can’t handle two words, here’s one word. A simple five letter word that has a world of meaning: peace.
This leads me back to my final question: why does it matter what race we are? The difference is only in appearance: our skin color and hair color. Like my mom always told me: “it does not matter what you see on the outside, all that matters is the inside.” This is true in pineapples, presents, AND humans. If we are all living in peace, then what does it matter what we look like? [pause] I witness this prejudice a lot in school. Whether it be about kids’ race or their clothing. It’s all the same. Teenagers have strict unspoken rules that you must dress a certain way, act a certain way, look a certain way. And there are so many cliques based on race and apparel. And if you stick out, you’re a target for teasing or even violence. It’s horrible. Teenagers can be SO judgemental. Luckily, I have a very diverse group of friends.
But I’m still puzzled about why our society has to control others. We are all people, we are all humans striving for the same goal of living life to its fullest. But when people full of hate stand in our way, it makes it so much harder. And sometimes, because of those human barricades, some of our fellow human beings don’t make it all the way. They are killed, murdered. Just for their preferences, their religion, or their appearance. We are so foolish. We are killing our own kind! And for no valid reason.
Who is going to stop this madness? Us. That’s right. Us. We are called as Christians to reach out to our society and hold their hands while we guide them down the path to end prejudices and violence. We might get a handful of rejection at first, but we must be persistent. Like it says in our theme song “It’s hard to be persistent when you’re standing at a distance.” We can’t change anything if we don’t step up to the plate.
And once we do decide to step up, we can end a lot of suffering. People suffering from hate crimes, families losing loved ones to violence, children missing their parents, teenagers crying because of something hurtful somebody said. We can end all of it. We can CHANGE THE WORLD. Will we listen? But more importantly, will YOU listen?
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