Equal and different

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Martin Luther King Jr.
Equal born, equal in death

Why on the earth then do we fret

About our differences while living

When death is equally unforgiving?

We all go through life somehow

With an attitude of being holier than thou

Condemning every viewpoint that may appear

Different from the ideas to which we adhere.

Why do we try to impose our will?

Why do we try so hard to drill

In others, our customs and specific ways,

Convinced that we are right always.

Using superiority as a pretense

Sometimes we resort to violence

In base attempts at subjugation

Of those who resist our domination.

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Can we appreciate and share

Cultural diversity everywhere

Learn to celebrate our differences

Soak in varied experiences,

Differences may seem too great

Ideas may appear disparate

But understand that deep inside

All of us, similarities hide.

Empty-handed we were born

Empty-handed we return

To the earth when life is done;

So love and tolerance we should learn.