It is also our differences that make us equal, for no two people are 100% the same.

                               It is our differences that make us equal, for no two people are the same.
We have been raised in a climate of thinking that it's all or nothing; you either stand with us 100% or you're against us. It's a black and white world out there on many fronts. Under that perception life can seem so limited and so full of enemies. That can be intimidating and fear is dis-empowering. We feel cornered and frustrated with everything. What they don't tell us is that we have this gift of discernment and we are allowed to use it. When we use it, we empower ourselves. We see friends everywhere, some who might differ slightly in only one area but a fellow human being just the same.
       Life is like a buffet. We are not required to eat everything on it just because we have purchased permission to access it. Just because we choose not to put peas on our plate, the cook does not come storming out of the kitchen, kicking us out of the restaurant, complaining "You don't like me! Fine! No eating from the buffet I prepared!".  We don't go see the peas on the buffet and wage war on kitchen staff for their being there. We simply choose something we DO want to eat.
     Every evening I see the deer come into town to graze. Where we are told to keep our children away for a few days and warning signs are up because the grass has just been sprayed with weed killer, the deer are eating. Then the deer leave town come morning to return to places where they may be hunted. Those who hunt are eating those deer whose bodies are polluted with chemicals. One does not have to be anti-hunting to allow for the idea of a bit of environmental consciousness to be considered a good thing. You don't have to feed your children toxic deer meat just because another wants feds to come in. Conversely, to want a bit more of environmental consciousness does not mean one has to support the federal government owning everything. Taking authority from locals puts in the hands of those whose children aren't swimming in our rivers, drinking from these waters and eating food grown on this land: they aren't going to be as invested in it, know it or understand what it needs.
  If we learn to make peace with the existence of the buffet and our fellow restaurant patrons, the need for bigger forces to come in to break up and settle things is diminished. Does a like of peas really qualify as reason to dehumanize our neighbors, belittle their appetites, abuse them intellectually, emotionally and even physically in extreme frustration with an all or nothing perception of what it means to be at a buffet? Do you really want to be seen as threat and a bully, less than a reasoning capable human being?
  Listening to our neighbor's concerns doesn't mean we have to give up our entire stockpile of world views. Just because a part of another's world view challenges us, it does not mean we have to give up on being human.  Conceding a point or two does not make us traitors to all of who we believe ourselves to be. It might actually set US free as individuals, empowering and affirming our own ability to think critically/discerningly. A different perspective can be an asset, an opportunity to add to our own wealth of knowledge and understanding of the ways of things. We aren't required or expected to know everything! That's where other perspectives come in handy. We can set ourselves free from fear, frustration and the illusion of being surrounded by enemies. We are ALL surrounded by fellow human beings who just want some peace and the freedom to just breath, knowing we truly have access to everything we need and feeds our idea of what happiness means.
   It is also our differences that make us equal, for no two people are 100% the same.