If you are old enough to celebrate your sweet 16, have learned how to parallel park without hitting one of the two cars and have taken 2nd period American History then you will understand this post. If you are under the age of 16 and reading this blog you’re probably either my 13 year old niece or one of her friends. My instructions for you adorable little things is first read this post and then work your way up to this one. Otherwise my speak maybe way over your side swept bangs. You get me? Good!

I think elections are funny. You got the Republican, all American well call em, “apple juice drinkers” and then you got the Democratic, pro-tutti- fruity “orange Juice drinkers.” You take two very close friends that are one a  Republican and the other a Democrat and seat them at a 2 person table top at a coffee shop, bring up “juice” (aka: Politics) and one of the following 2 things will happen:

1.) A sauna like heated discussion of why “My juice is better than your juice!” will take place.  Diagrams, detailed graphs, historical references, name calling and the questionable sanity of the opposing “juice drinker” will be brought to the table. All for the glory of proclaiming their “Juice” superior….or…..

2.) Either the O.J. sipper or the apple juice gulper will nonchalantly change the subject to “Have you ever cooked a Thanksgiving Turkey in a pressure cooker?”

These conversations will inevitably end with a sigh of relief because one person has to mail a letter to Santa Clause and the other one needs to buy new pom pom streamers for their bike. Though both drinkers have put down their juice for a moment the tension in the air remains. This tension is the unspoken words of “You’re voting for who? That sucks now we can’t be friends.” Isn’t it ironic that we have a black president on the ballot, the question of legalizing same sex marriage and the  great concern over border control yet even as educated and sophisticated people we still fall back on childish emotions that our friend is not the person we thought they were. We feel jipped, cheated and lied to that this person that we’ve trusted our dating sagas with and vacationed with is a bomb carrier from the other side. If you have ever felt this way, then no one understands you more than I do.

I tend to hang with a pretty conservative crowd that is very vocal about the superiority of their “apple juice.” I hear them out, try my best to understand why they feel the way they do, but I can’t help but feel like, “Dang we’re so different. That sucks.” Then I immediately want to remove these people from the pedestal I once had them on (Everyones a little compulsive right?) At the same time it seems pretty well on cue and with the rhyme of life right now. We still have hate crimes happening every day all around the U.S.,  and minorities continue to be the criminals were after on the 9 o’clock evening news. As a society we are all still living in great fear of that which is different from us. We consider differences wrong, harmful and frightening. It must be one of those cave man modes of survival to distance ourselves from that which is different.

You may consider this a generalization, but take this example into consideration… One of my jobs is working as an Art Teacher at a Fine Art and Cultural Center. Today,  I was taking my  lunch break in the courtyard right before my next class of adorable little artists. I noticed that the oil portraiture class was also taking a break. There was probably 25 of them in the class. They were all dispersed among 3 tables eating their lunches. I couldn’t help but notice that the brunettes in the group were at one table, the blonds at another and those with Asian features at another table.  Now, this could have been a mere coincidence, but for the sake of our subject lets pretend its not. What is it with the segregation going on in the courtyard? Here we have adults expanding and exploring their minds through a 16 week course about fine art portraiture and yet they still gravitate towards those that are familiar to them and thus make them comfortable.

It’s been my thought about the election that though we are making great leaps and bounds in History regarding who and what we put on our ballots, a lot of us are still stuck in 1950. A lot of us still feel the fear that what is different is wrong. I think anyone who cares about politics (and religion for that matter) is not only discussing laws and policies, but they are discussing their heart and their beliefs. I don’t think the world will change when we elect the right president and or veto/pass laws. The world will change when we embrace each others differences and dispose of our own fear.

On that note this topic makes me think of my mom. Whenever I had a problem with a sister, a friend or a over qualified and demanding cheerleading coach my mom’s advice was always the same, “just be yourself.” I always rolled my eyes at this advice, finding it as ludicrous as telling a thirsty alcoholic to go drink some water. I assume my mothers belief was that in being true to the person I was created to be that things would all pan out for the good. Then I think down the road of me saying this to my future children. I think I would say it for #1.) Believing that children are inherently good and have the answers within themselves. But mostly I think I would say it for #2.) I would say it for the hope that when I tell my child, “Just be yourself” that societies response would to them would be, “Welcome. I am so glad you’re here.” I just hope I can help create that world before I have kids.

“I do not want the peace that passeth understanding.

I want the understanding which bringeth peace.”

- Helen Keller