Prejudice

April will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham jail."  This is my personal opinion but if you have never read this, you need too. For years, I thought Martin Luther King was a communist.  I still haven't figured out where I acquired that mind set.  Several years ago, I was looking through my son's college English book and came across two stories that really moved me.  The two stories were, Letter from Birmingham jail by Martin Luther King and a letter by Apache chief, Cochise called I Am Alone.

After I read these two letters, I hated the fact that in my life I have judged people without knowing them, accepted beliefs and opinions of other people without researching information for myself.  I know that I don't have any concept of what minorities have been subjected too.  That's what moved me when I read these two letters. As humans, how can we treat each other that way!

I'm not throwing stones, I have been very guilty of being prejudice in the past but I am changing that.  I'm writing this for only one purpose, that we would all research information on what we believe and why we believe it and stop taking information over the news or from other sources as the truth.  I am surprised at the hatred I see in people toward people who are Muslims or people who are middle eastern.  That hatred is no different from the hatred directed at the black people years ago. Yes, there are blacks, Muslims, whites and all races who have done acts of violence.  You cannot pin that on one race.  When I read the letters by Cochise and Martin Luther King, Americans have done more than their share of violence and still do, mostly for the sake of greed and control.

Jesus said, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself!