I grew up in a time of total, institutionalized, inequality based upon race, sec, religion, sexual orientation, or any other damned thing that varied from the Male WASP ”norm”.
Even though I lived relatively rurally in my formative years, I knew this was wrong; damned wrong. Some of my earliest disagreements with adults were on those subjects. After all they were unavoidable issues as I grew up in the 1960’s.
Thankfully that world no longer exists, despite the arguments to the contrary. That is not to say all is good. Frankly, despite the great leaps and bounds of changes, one need only to look at the nightly news to see how far we are from total equality.
It is a long road, far longer than a starry-eyed teenager thought in the 60’s would have ever imagined. Honestly, there is no way I will live to see it. That I have seen such progress is heartening. That I look forward to more changes is welcoming.
If there is any damper on this is the pendulum affect that I have seen. We have all seen it although it is rarely acknowledged and, even then, is excused as their ”just due”. That is when a group that has gained their rightful place is not satisfied; they want one-upmanship on those that had put them down, despite those people being long, long gone and their heirs often being their champions. This king of treatment breeds resentment as they should well know. But they just cannot seem to help themselves.
I guess it becomes more and more obvious how unique Nelson Mandela was in how he ruled South Africa. Please learn from him.
