The Right to Exist
Have you ever wondered if there is a right to exist? I mean… unbeknownst to me, I came to earth without consultation, permission slip, or waiver; I just showed up. Some believe my arrival was due to biological function, meaning my parents got busy. Others believe that my existence is due to divine order or intelligent design. No matter how I got here, I always assumed I was supposed to be here and that I was okay to exist.
Who gets to be here, and who does not? The Declaration of Independence says this.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. –
This isn’t a constitutional amendment. I realize these words are in this declaration of divorce between the US and Great Britain. I will openly admit that I am not an expert in these matters but I can read. Interestingly, this statement is at the start of this declaration. These ideas were important to the writer and every man who signed this document. (Pisst… I’m not going to get into that they were all white men and most owned slaves)
Yet, here we are, refusing these “unalienable rights” to people that are just as much of an American and just as human as you and I.
450 anti-transgender bills across this country want to remove these unalienable rights. Making these people enemies, perverts, and even child molesters, deeming them a lower version of homo sapiens than others. This ideology is only a few inches away from requiring a transgender person to sew a “yellow star” to their clothing. We cannot paint an entire people group filled with people that have caused no evil, no harm, and label them as evil and harmful.
We should ensure that the queer community is safe and free from harm. That would be morally the right thing to do. It is spiritually the right thing to do. It is the human thing to do.
I took it upon myself to help us all understand the spirit of our nation’s divorce from Great Brittan; here you go:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, obvious, undeniable that all men, people, and human beings are created equal, that they are endowed gifted by their Creator (God, gods, goddess, higher power, self) with certain unalienable (absolute or inconvertible) Rights, that among these are… Life existence, Liberty, freedom, autonomy, and the pursuit of happiness. Contentment, a life of quiet enjoyment.
To deny the existence, freedom, autonomy, and contentment to any citizen of these United States is irrefutably un-American, unchristian, and inhuman.
Check-in with your conscience, god, and intellect, and tell me what seems like the American spirit. What does being a spiritual person mean? How can we do this to our citizens and their children?
We all have the right to exist and to enjoy the freedoms that everyone else enjoys. We do have a right to exist. Laws and regulations on one people group and not another is some seriously concerning shit. If the government is empowered to do this to the queer community, it will set a precedence for them to come after any group that they don’t like.
No one is free unless we are all free.
Land of the free and home of the brave, or are we, in the words of Brother Ali, “land of the thief and home of the slave?” These are the “what the fuck moments” that I have. Do I have strong opinions that seem anti-American? I guess, but I’m not. I’m anti-lies, anti-bullshit, anti-hate, and pretty much anti-anything that removes human rights. So, if the United States is doing that, I will be against any law that removes the right to exist, the right to freedom, and the right to not only pursue happiness but the right to have the same rights as everyone else… the same privileges and protections of every American regardless of race, color, or creed or what pronouns you use. People are people; as Americans, we are responsible for guaranteeing everyone has the unalienable right to exist and be free.
No one is free until we are all free.
As always, I welcome your comments.
