Do you feel, thinking of the human race, that we have more in common than divides us? We want to be safe. We want to be happy. We want the best for our children. We want to feel our potential is fulfilled. We want to be loved. Do you think these things create a sense of national or even global community? When you meet people do you tend to focus on how they differ from you or what you have in common? Do you think that difference is generally thought of as a bad thing or an interesting thing? How do you perceive difference? Do you like it or does it unsettle you? The opening of the United States Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”. We tend to think about this in terms of rights and privileges – that we all deserve the same opportunities and respect – obviously important things – but how it would be if we thought about it more in terms of all men, or all people, being created equal in terms of our humanity? If we defined ourselves by our human-ness rather than by our gender or religion or ethnicity? Would this help us to feel more commonality?
What do you think? Ruth Copland gets the views of people on the street for our Out and About feature. Join us on Saturday 8-9 PM! For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
