Tuesday, March 15, 2005

03/15/05 verbage...

The day I left Toronto, Brett and Peter and I were in a cab on our way to a hotel to meet our friends. We started laughing about how there should be store that caters to the needs of the truly strange. Just in case you need you need a Mexican wrestling mask, a mickey of Vodka, and some mousetraps. I'm not entirely sure it would be a moneymaker, but it would be the most interesting retail outlet since the clearance sale that sent Kmart to that great department store in the sky. (The Canadian operation met its maker about a decade ago…)

The concept triggered a thought. I think it's neat how wildly divergent people are. The differences that we have make for one hell of an interesting place. I think it's time we stopped lumping people into groups based on ethnicity, gender, political bias or religious affiliation. In my estimation, they do not make the measure of a person.

Maybe we can look past all that window dressing, and see people for what they really are. While it can be argued that these things all have a place in creating the identity of a person, they are nothing more than primary construction materials. Seeing them as anything more, has led to untold volumes of bloodshed and destruction. The misunderstandings caused by this flawed set of demographics have made the world a very insecure place.

Think of all the Shock and Awe that could have been avoided. (Not all of it mind you…)
Imagine measuring our fellow man with a simpler set of standards. Deciding on our actions based on the notion of character, rather than say, by skin colour. Would it not reflect a happier wisdom if we refrained from making sweeping generalizations, and concentrated on what lies within the human heart?

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