Questioning Government

Many of our ancestors came to this great nation seeking tolerance. Their former governments had denied them freedoms simply because of their beliefs, so they came by boat to the new land called America, where they were free to practice their religion; where they could raise a family and seek life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet today, in a nation descended from these freedom seekers, these pursuers of tolerance do we lie in a war of words and deeds, in a nation that seeks to deny others the life, liberty and tolerance upon which it was founded simply because they do not agree with them. Is it not in the history of the United States that we once denied freedoms to African Americans? Is it not in our history that we denied freedoms to the women of this country? Is it not in our history that we destroyed the homes and lives of Native Americans for pursuit of our own dreams? Are these not historical memories of which we wish to absolve from ourselves? And yet, we stand today and deny freedom and liberty to yet another group of people based on our discriminatory practices, based on the fact that we look at differences and not at similarities, based on the fact that they are not justified in our sight. But who are we to judge? Our government, though the law of the land, is not God. Though blessed by God, does not control his hand or his will towards others. Oh, how low have we come, when we arrive at the day when we feel we are the ones that can judge the other man, who in God’s eyes is our equal, who in God’s eyes was created from the bit of dust that lay beside us, who in God’s masterpiece is the thread above us in the tapestry of eternity. We may not agree, but we do not degrade. We may not promote, but we do not demote. We may not like, but we must love. For the day when we do not we are below those whom we despise. And in a land where we are suppose to respect all people and all ways of life, how can we allow one way to override the many. What if we made laws according to Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, or the writings of Confucius? Then, would Americans stand up and so adamantly fight for their liberty as they did so many years ago? In the days of Thomas Jefferson it was ill fated for a black woman and a white man to wed and yet today we look back and pity ourselves as uninformed and uncivilized. A hundred years from today will we be doing the same? To deny any man the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of that which is granted another man is unconstitutional. God loves everyone, in God’s eyes all men are equal. Is our government above God?