Can't we all just get along?

In dealing with the new puppy, Serendipity, lately... I have experienced a new type of discrimination - breed discrimination. "Dippy" is a pitbull/boxer mix. She's sweeter than my dog. She hasn't snapped, growled or bitten. The worst she's done is nip, and that's because she is a puppy. She loves other dogs, but we aren't allowed to go to the dog park because of what she is. She needs obiedence classes, but if I were to enroll her, we'd have to pay more money to get private lessons. During walks, people give us dirty looks and hide their children.

And now with the release of Harry Potter book and movie this summer, the Anti-HP crowd is getting rabid. People who claim to be open-minded, state that others in same-sex relationships are going to hell. A good number of my friends are more liberal than I am, and they won't even listen to other viewpoints. They even stop talking to me when I express my own views.

You know why we have wars, un-neccessary stress, discrimination, etc? Because we refuse to open ourselves to learn about others. We need to stop dividing ourselves and start coming together. No more titles, no more barriers. We all have to be stuck here together. Why don't we make the most of it? Step out of your comfort zone and spend a day doing something that you may not agree with, but will open up your mind to others.

Don't like organized religion? Go spend a few Sundays or volunteer at your local Church. Get to know THEM as people and stop grouping them together by their religion. Upset at illegal aliens? Take a few classes in Spanish or volunteer as an ESL teacher. Think Harry Potter is the root of all evil? Pick up a book and read it. Think all pitbulls need to be put down? Spend a Saturday volunteering at a PitBull rescue society.

Take time to learn about these people,animals, etc on a personable level instead of a generalized, distant one... Get to know the individual instead of pretending to "know" a group. We don't know anything unless we take the time to discover something ourselves.

We have enough bounderies in our lives, such as languages and geographical distances. We don't need to be making more. The best way to learn about yourself and to become more confident in your own stances is to learn first hand about other viewpoints you may not agree with. I'm not saying change your mind about the issue, just open yourself up to learn about the other side too.

Open your mind and you will open your world.