They Lit My Fire….

Living in the USA, but coming from a different part of the world (The Netherlands), has been quite the experience. These past 8 years have been very educational for me. I was flabbergasted to find what I found when I moved to this country.
I have always had a strong feeling about fairness. I’ve always been ‘allergic’ to injustice. There were instances in my native country that sometimes made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Never though, had I expected to see the level of injustice, the casual (systemic!) racism, and the indifference regarding other people’s lives – when those people are ‘different’ – that I found here.

To me this was a completely different world that made no sense whatsoever, and on a regular basis made my blood boil. Fortunately, I ran into a bunch of amazing people (through my wife), that had the same ideas and opinions that I held. Very quickly I recognized my ‘ilk’, if you will. People who too believed that this country was on the wrong track. And quite frankly – in my humble opinion – it has been on the wrong track from the very beginning. So it is high time to change direction.

These are the very people who have fought for justice and equality their entire lives. I have not. In my native country things aren’t as dire. They are definitely not perfect – far from it! – but they are good enough to have most people grumble and complain every now and then, but not push them to take real action. I was one of those people. I had my qualms. From time to time I would air my discontent, but it basically stopped there.
Until I came to the USA. Things are a lot different here. More urgent. More pressing. From being baffled about why things are the way they are in this country, and why this country is SO much different from any other modern western country, I gradually became involved. The people around me have mobilized me in a way I could never have anticipated when I moved here.

I was forced to think about my beliefs and my abilities to join the fight. And I decided years ago, not long after I arrived here, that I would join their mission. To not just be a bystander, but to be an active contributor to pursue fairness and justice for all people.

And I honestly do not care whether you’re straight, or gay, or bi, or trans. I don’t care whether you are white, or black or brown, Asian, native American, or Latinx, male or female or gender-neutral. I don’t care if you’re Jewish, or Catholic, or Muslim, or Amish, or an atheist. Nor do I care whether you’re rich or poor, old or young, disabled, super-talented, a vegetarian, a socialist, or WHAT EVER ELSE! To me, none of those things matter at the end of the day.

I care about fairness! I care about equal rights! Those are far more important than all of the above. We should all be working to ensure that every human being will be treated the same. No legs up. No unfair obstacles or limitations. No privileges. We need a level playing field where everyone has an honest chance at a good life.
And yes, I know, no one has said that “life is fair”. That is absolutely true: life ISN’T fair. For me though, that is all the more reason to do everything we can to not make it even more unfair than it already is.

We have to do our utmost to make it as fair as we can for everyone. Not just for our kids. Not just for our family and friends. No, for everyone.
We have quite a bit of work to do before we get there. But it is good to know that there is an army of like-minded people who are willing to take up the gauntlet, and help make the changes that are needed to make this a better country, and a better world, for everyone.

Cheers,
JP