The Brotherhood of Man: Finding Commonalities

This be so important, y’all! Heads out of your cave, cotton out of your ears, eyes off the boob tube, and see if ya can’t pay some damn attention for five minutes. I know, Dr. Phil is on, and then Survivor, followed by the Kardashians and reruns of Beverly Hillbillies and don’t forget to bid on ebay for that slicer, dicer that you can’t live without and don’t blink or you’ll miss the commercial for Victoria’s Secret because of course those are all REAL people!

“And you tell me, over and over and over again my friend, that you don’t believe, we’re on the Eve of Destruction.” I’m telling you, man, you can’t trust that dude over there; look at the way he’s dressed, damn rag on top his head, what’s up with that? And that guy over there, well, you know about those people, lazy is all they are and hey, over there too, look at that clown, what’s he doing in this neighborhood, pretty damn sure he knows better than to mix with our kind.

“Glory, glory hallelujah….”…praise be to God…that’s right, God, none of that Allah business, and you can take your Buddha and shove it, man, because I don’t trust any of you so get back on the boat and head back where you belong…..WHOA, THERE…..hey you Southern cracker, why don’t you take your chitlins and shove them where the sun don’t shine, and you Cajun rednecks are all the same, everyone knows about you, nobody wants you around, take it down the block Joe Bob and don’t you come round no more, no more, no more….”all the lonely people, where do they all come from?”

It all needs to stop, or in this lifetime our differences are going to destroy us. Our greatest enemy in this country is not Iran, or China, or Russia or whoever….our greatest enemy is ourselves.

For those who do not know me, my name is Bill, and I belong to a writers’ site called HubPages. On that site I have a friend called Mike (Cloud Explorer) who lives in New York City….or Queens….one of those places where they talk funny! J

Now Mike is a black man. I am white. Mike is in his late forties or early fifties. I am sixty-four. Mike comes from a background and struggles that I have not experienced. I come from a lilly-white neighborhood on the west coast and my childhood was a walk in the park. Mike served in the Navy. I have not served in the Armed Forces. If you were to compare our cliff notes you would be hard-pressed to find any commonalities between Mike and I.

And yet, I consider him my spiritual brother. I have never met him; may not ever meet him. We have conversed online for about six months now, and during that time we have come to not only understand each other but to deeply respect each other. In many ways I consider that remarkable, but when viewed from the perspective that we are both human beings, it becomes a bit easier to understand.

Because of the writers’ site that I belong to, I have friends in South Africa. I have friends in Dubai, and I wouldn’t be able to find Dubai on a map if you put a gun to my head. I have friends in India and Brazil, Latvia and Wales.

My friendships know no boundaries. Sha in Florida, Rich in Kentucky, Mary in New York and Sasha in Oregon, all my friends and all people I respect. I have shared deep, personal thoughts on the death of a loved one with Beckie, commiserated with Mike over the sudden destruction of his town, and shared thoughts on finding a teaching job with Sharilee.

I have spoken of my alcoholism with Bob, listened as cancer patients talked of recovery and personal strength, and laughed with Janine about the trials and tribulations of parents everywhere. I have a lil’ Sis in Cyndi, a kindred spirit in Eddy, a buddy for life in Bruce, and a writing buddy named Linda who seems to know what I’m thinking before I say a word.

And I have never met any of them!

It is really rather simple my friends; we have bonded because of our commonalities.

I have spoken of this incident before but it bears repeating. When I was in college, our Sociology class had an assignment. We were to find a way to help others. That was it, as open-ended an assignment as you are likely to receive.

My college roommate and I decided that we wanted to establish a reading program for the kids in our predominantly black neighborhood. We were, admittedly, nervous. Neither of us had ever had any interaction with African-Americans, and this was during the great Civil Unrest of the 60’s. Still, we went about establishing the program and yes, we were met with resistance and skepticism from the black parents. There was distrust and there were some anxious moments, but finally the program was established and we had our first group of students to work with.

By the end of that quarter we were shaking hands with those skeptical parents, and receiving thanks from them for helping their kids. The walls of distrust and fear had been torn down, because when all was said and done we were just two human beings wanting to help other human beings.

I do not have a definitive answer to this question. I know there has always been distrust on the world stage. I know there have always been fear, and hate, and vile acts unworthy of a higher life form. We are surrounded by it daily, the name-calling, the looks of open disgust, and the veiled threats.

And yet, when two people get past the dogma and pre-paid socio-economic and political b.s., we are all just human beings. I pull my pants on the same way my friends do in Finland. I mourn the same way my friends do in the Philippines, and I laugh and love the same way my friends do in Nepal.

I do not need to meet any of them to know that our commonalities are so much greater than our differences; why is it, then, that the minor differences in our cultures can cause such a gulf? The fact that a man wears a turban does not make him a bad man. The fact that a woman worships a different god does not make her a bad person.

I need the bigots out there to explain it all to me; explain in a logical way for me to understand. Do not hide behind your Bible; do not recite the mantra you have been force-fed by your government, and do not parrot the insanities passed down by your family. Just you and me, one on one, explain to me how a human being can be deemed inferior or evil simply because of the color of his skin or the beliefs of her religion. If you can explain that to me then I’ll shut up and slither back into the dream world from which I came.

Come to think of it, don’t’ even bother trying to justify that ridiculous crap that you are selling, because I ain’t buying. I may not be John Lennon, standing on the street corner singing “Imagine,” but I am a man who still believes that peace is possible.

It begins with me; it then spreads through my family, and then our neighborhood, and then community. One person at a time, and I will keep believing it is possible until the day I die.

Because to not believe in it is to make a mockery of why we were put on this planet. We have a higher calling, and it is about time we acted like it!

I am a true believer…in the Brotherhood of Man!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)