There is so much hate, so much violence and so much disgust and for what? Equality? Respect? Power? Maybe this all seems so new to me because I have moved away from everything that I knew and now I see the world in a bigger picture, but the actions of people from everywhere are absolutely astounding to me.

Everyone wants power. The ability or influence others behaviors in a way that satisfies your own needs, but to what extent? We live in a world of 195 countries, all of which want to be the most powerful but we turn to war in order to gain it. We sacrifice the people’s lives of our countries in order to get one more step up on the ladder. We spend millions upon millions of dollars on weapons to eliminate our competition in a sense, and yet there are still people who don’t have water that they can drink safely. We’re selfish as countries and while that is not a bad thing, because you have to do what’s right for you and your nation, we let the idea of ultimate power control us way too much. Even on a smaller more personal scale, individuals who seek power think that playing mind games and belittling others to make them afraid of them is how they can obtain it.

While unfortunately this method does show success, it’s a negative success because what they gain is not power, but instead fear from others. The US is a great example of this. We as a nation are very powerful to the rest of the world. We stand up for ourselves and fight when we think necessary to protect that power that we hold. But we focus so much on maintaining this power that we say and do what we have to in order to keep our name in the game. What do I mean by this? If you go to any country around the world and turn on the news, there will ALWAYS be something in regards to the US there. Whether it is about the president, and accident, or something that may not even seem worthy of world knowledge, it is there. Why? Because if for one day we aren’t front page, then we get knocked down on the “importance scale”. We make it so that people have no choice but to constantly be reminded of our country and the power that we obtain over the entire world. While for some countries this is just news, to others it brings fear, thus resulting in war and the deaths of many of our own to keep our nations ‘power’ alive.

In hand with power, respect seems to be of controversy as well. For me respect between people is slowing disappearing. Hell, even children nowadays don’t even show respect to their own parents, much less anyone else in their lives. People demand respect from others but fail to provide it, and then question why they don’t receive it. If you don’t respect your country, your parents, or your boss, why do you deserve it from them? A lot of Americans don’t respect our President, that’s your freedom and I’m not taking that away from you, but from the outside looking in, if we make our president out to be a joke, the world sees that and they begin to look at him as a joke which in return makes our country seem weaker. All the power that we are fighting to maintain diminishes and because of who? Us.

No one is handed respect, you have to earn it and live by it. Like I mentioned with power, the same can be applied here, you do not gain respect through fear, you gain respect because of who you genuinely are as a person and the way that you treat others. Fighting and killing does not give you real respect, although some seem to think it does. This goes more with power and being higher on the ladder of life. But what does respect really mean? It is the regard for the feelings, wishes, or the rights of others, so now with this in mind, do you think you really deserve the respect that you demand?

Most of the hate and violence today is due to equality; race, gender, size, and even whom we can love are the basics behind this. Equality is something that has always been a problem and sadly will always be a problem as long as we keep our views to the past. If we constantly bring up slavery and the way that African Americans were treated 200 years ago, how can we move forward? If we focus on the fact that “only” 97 years ago women got the right to vote and to voice their opinion, how can we grow? If we claim we are a country of free religion, why is denying the right to love whom ever you do, whether two women or two men, shunned because the Bible is against it? Why because the media portrays the “perfect body” as someone who is seemingly skinny and well proportioned, do we tell ourselves that’s how we have to look to be accepted? Equality is all about outlook and the willingness to let the past be the past while looking forward to the future. Until we can let go of the numbers and the stereotypes, we will always be in this battle of equality and pushing ourselves back into the past instead of accepting what is today and growing as a world. Although you as an individual may have your opinions on each matter, that shouldn’t affect the overall outlook from everyone else. That’s the perks of living in a Democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association.

Moving away opened my eyes to this and quite quickly I might add. I constantly read articles or Facebook rants on these matters and question what it is the person is trying to get across, or what they are trying to achieve. But all I can say is that we are capable of making the differences we wish to see within our own lives, and regardless how the world perceives power, respect, and equality, it shouldn’t affect how you as an individual distinguishes these inside your mind. I would love to see the world a better place, and I’m sure you would too, but it starts with us. We have to break the cycle of staying in the past and be determined to continue growing as a human race, until then, hate, violence, and war will continue to happen and it’s only us that we can blame.

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