what happened to loving people as people?
i don't know where this idea came from-- is it just wishful thinking, is it something i dreamed up? because i have hardly experienced it-- but i feel deep inside that people should be loved just for being people. not for how attractive they are, not for their personalities, not for what they do for you, how happy they make you.. but for being people. for being created by God. in a society that caters to a person's every whim, that tells people that they deserve to have everything they want, that encourages greed, gluttony, selfishness-- the american dream-- it is no surprise that we are beginning to treat each other as commodities.
today, we pick and choose who we include in our lives based on intelligence, attractiveness, popularity, personality, and whether that person makes you happy. people that do not fall into these categories are discarded. old people, once they have lost their value, are discarded into nursing homes. children with disabilities are also often placed into homes, if they have not been given away or aborted. even children with the potential to be healthy, beautiful blessings are killed before they even enter the world-- because it is inconvenient. the divorce rate is higher than ever-- wives, as they grow older, are cast off for younger, more attractive women.. and if your husband no longer makes you happy the way they used to make you happy, they are cut out.
the problem is nobody is perfect-- and no one will ever meet everyone's standards their entire lives. even the most beautiful model will eventually age and become less attractive. athletes will eventually lose their abilities. even the most famous movie stars will eventually become old news. people will make mistakes, lose their money. people will piss you off, fail you. everyone. no one is perfect.
and even if leaving your wife, putting your parents in a nursing home, aborting your baby seems harmless, when will it end? if we start killing our babies (abortion), will we start killing our old people (assisted suicide), our disabled people, our children? when is a person a person? where do we draw the line? do we really think our country's values are vastly different from the nazis values? its an easy path to travel and i think we are at least STARTING to walk down it...
when will we learn to love each other, not for what they do for you, but for who they are.. for being a creation of God? no one should have to sit at a lunch table alone, watch their husband pack up and leave, be literally thrown in a garbage can to die. in our society, we only purchase things that are good enough for us, that are worth the money. we tell ourselves that everyone is valuable, and yet we really believe deep down that people have price tags. sure, you are valuable, but so-and-so is worth $100, while so-and-so is worth $40. wait a few years, and there will probably be a price cut. better yet, while my wife appears to be worth a lot, i'm going to get a warranty just to be sure-- you can get a full refund, no strings attached if you're married in europe.
but the truth is everyone is equally valuable.. and everyone should be treated this way. we are not luxuries, not necessities, not things-- we are all so much more.
i'm tired of being compared, comparing. i'm tired of trying to determine how i stack up next to this person, and whether or not this person is in my league. i'm tired of watching people fall apart because they were never shown what love really is-- not by their parents, not by their friends, not by their spouses, not by their children. i don't want to be caught up in this battle and i wish i could save those who have been wounded in it.
let's learn to love now-- old and young, ugly and attractive, rich and poor. let's try to love ALL the people that God put in our lives.. the children we conceive, the homeless men we encounter on our commutes to work, mexicans, african-americans, homosexuals, the annoying neighbor girl that rings your doorbell every day, your crazy grandma, your obnoxious little brother, the crabby, stingy, middle-aged women that stiffs you at work, your husband who has lost his job, your friend who has let you down. everyone. can you imagine how different the world would be?
