Ultimate Game of Chance

2016 has been a terrible year. I try to undersand the hatred, the shame, and the violence, but it just doen't compute. How something that doesn't have any effect on someone can make that person hate.

In Europe, calls for harsher laws against humans are raised in every governing body. Leaders of nations, safe in their homes with three meals per day, a roof, warmth, and a bed, have decided that humans running from falling bombs and mass executions are worth less than the people in charge.

In Russia, a former KGB agent rules supreme and is persecuting his own people. In North Korea, a dictator is hunting his own people. We call them names, and by doing so, give them more power.

A new leader sits at the top of power in one of the most powerful countries in the world and everyone is freaking out. No, not everyone. This man got half of the votes of the electoral college, representing roughly half of the people who voted. Sure, he got less than the opposition, but he still won. When we belittle Donald Trump, we belittle those who voted for him, and by doing so, we give him more power.

Polititians are calling for the people to accept the state of things, to not work against the leaders, but that is not how a democracy works. There is an opposition for a reason.

Cercei Lannister said "When you play the game of thrones, you either win, or you die". In Roger Zelazny's Amber, the one who loses ends up blind in a dungeon, or meet a more merciful death. In Unadan, the champions can be banished, kept away for the sake of humanity.
In these epic stories, the weak have a chance of  becoming heroes, the underdog can win and save the world. We like these stories, because they give us an escape from our own world. We like to forget the fights we face and just move into a more managable narrative.

Humans are rarely that simple. Every human is a complex being, with wants and needs, desires, fears, and attractions. Some are accepting, some are not. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some just want a meal that day. It would be so easy if we could live in a world like in "Equilibrium" or the "Divergent" series - everyone is the same, just a different face.

But. We. Do. Not.

Humans are complex beings who need to be imagined complexly. We come in different sizes, colors, religions, ethnic backgrounds, and sexualities. We look different, we think differently, but we are ONE species! Our current leaders want to turn us against each other so we will forget to hold them accountable. Let us turn back to them, raise our voices, and make them answer for what they are doing.

Birth is the ultimate game of chance. A human doesn't decide their skin color, hair color, eye color, size, or sexuality. To hold someone in contempt for something we have no control over is a coward's way. Let us turn to our leaders and demand to know what they will do to not be cowards. To dare to imagine people complexly. To be brave enough to shout from the rooftops "We are different and it is awesome!!"

But, you know what? We can be the underdog that saves the world.
Do not accept the staus quo. Use the laws and oppose cowardly politicians. Do not stoop to violence or name calling, but make the haters powerless by being the braver person.

DFTBA