Chaos and Concord battle in the collective mind.
Chaos whispers to every tribe, religion, and race
βFear βthe otherβ
They covet your power
They envy your advantage.β
She sings to each group,
βYouβre the stronger, the higher, the better,
Youβre the blessed. Privilege is your right.β
Concordβs small voice speaks of equity, justice and peace.
βLike us, βthe otherβ has tradition, history, community, art.
Like us, they are right to exist.β
βNo,β cries Chaos.
βOnly the strong, the worthy, the majority can rule.
The vote is your modern weapon for keeping them at bay.
If you cannot defeat them,
feign tolerance to hide your enmity while you bide your time.β
βTolerance is not enough,β Concord interjects.
βWe must be happy for them and their community.
Erasing a culture is not up for ballot.
We canβt hide our violence and bias behind popular votes.
It kills freedom, feeds Chaos, it is cruel.β
βConquest and conformity,β Chaos asserts,
βis the only way to happiness.β
βBelief that, someday, all will accept the same beliefs,
the same god, the same history,
only perpetuates sadness and despair.β
Concord challenges,
βpursuit of happiness is not by forced acceptance.
Happiness grows
by being happy for each other,
by supporting each otherβs spiritual growth,
by helping each other build meaning,
by trying to understand and encourage all those around us.β
May Concordβs voice be heard.