The Rights of All

Let’s be clear,
I completely believe in
Equal rights.

Note though that I said
Equal,
Not special,
Not women’s,
Not anything,
But equal.

That each of us
Have equal rights
As members of
The human family.

Every last one of us
Can claim oppression.

So yes, voting for someone
“Because she’s a woman,”
Is sexism.

And voting for someone
“Because he’s black,”
Is racism.

Hell, I voted for a black woman,
Not because of any identity issue,
But because she spoke the truth.

You see, where the basics of Humanity
Begin to breakdown
Is when we classify ourselves
Into categories.

That we identify by
Gender, or color
  or status
Creating a tiered system
  of Superiority
  and Inferiority
And when that happens
We begin to disregard
The other person’s
Human rights
  as an equal
And say,
     “Because I am this
               and you are that,
                         I have a right,
                             but you don’t.”

This is the very foundation
  of disrespect,
Where relationships
Quickly disintegrate.

This is exactly
How wars get started.

If we dropped our identities and simply accepted that every single person has the right to exist; that the space they are occupying, at any given moment is rightfully theirs, for we all must be someplace; that we all have the right to self-determination; that we each have a right to decide the course and direction of our own lives, without hindrance from any god, government, or entity!

That, at its core, is the very definition of freedom.

If we hold it dear and true for ourselves, then we must hold it equally dear and true for everyone else, without exception.

An injustice to even one
          is an injustice to all.

On this planet, there is a line drawn in the sand. On one side are the owners – and it is not just some mythical one percent that pull the strings in the shadows, it is every one of us, who buy into the faulty rational of the owner, where a lack of morality is justified by the declaration of property.

Where the unacceptable becomes acceptable, because of the words, “I own.”

Where the basic respect and dignity we offer each other as equals is disregarded in order for someone who has to impose their will upon someone who has not.

The good parent teaches their children to share.

On the other side of the line we have the proletariat
Those who find themselves having
Less and less and less,
          with more people telling them
                    what they’re doing wrong,
                    which rules they’re breaking,

When the only real crime is poverty itself.

We are all victims of capitalism.

The only difference between any of us is
     on which side of the line we choose to stand
                                                at any given moment.

When we come to realize
          that all property
               all possessions
               are merely temporal,
         that we really,
               truly own nothing
               other than our physical beings
               and that, only for a number of years,
         that the relationships
               and community
                    that we cultivate in this life
                    are the only things of any true value
                              much more than any object
                              or piece of dirt
                              that we could ever possibly own,

At that moment,
          peace is possible.