Equal or Special?

This article is bound to piss off someone, so you can be sure to love it or hate it! Read on…

There is a familiar theme with any minority group that feels they are experiencing discrimination. It can be lesbians, transgender, blacks, gays, seniors – it can be any group. It does not matter.

What we all say we want is to be equal. Fine, as far as I am concerned. There is no reason why anyone should be put down for the color of his skin, her cultural or ethnic background, with whom one sleeps, or how old one is. The problem occurs when the group or individual who cries foul that s/he is not being treated equally turns around and wants special accommodation. If they are equal then why do they need something special? Does that not negate their desired equality?

I recently saw an article written to accommodate transgender people by replacing “he” and “her” with “ze” and “hir”, more gender-neutral terms. Some would say that if a person who is transgender is finally living her life as a woman then “she” should be proud of that. But the transgender person might still need to let people know that “she” has made a choice to live “her” life in a way very different from the past. It not only allows her to transition, but also lets her come out of the trunk (sorry….”t” for transgender and looked for something more than a closet – there are enough of us coming out of there already…).

My point is that we do not get to tell others how they need to express themselves. Conversely, those who feel they must use alternate terms to define their lives cannot expect everyone to understand those needs without informing others. If you are African American and I refer to you as black, and later you tell me “black” does not work for you or offends you, then I will, from then on, refer to you as African American. When I used “black” at the beginning of this blog it is because there is little if any agreement within the black/African American community about what should be used when and with whom. I use both “black” and “African American” interchangeably – half my friends of color prefer one, the rest prefer the other – so if they cannot agree with each other what is a fifty-five year old Caucasian male who was raised a poor white boy in a trailer park to do?!?. Society also went from American Indians to Native Americans to First Nations Peoples, but many of the communities who were here before white Christians invaded their land are not even familiar with the currently political correct term. So what is the answer?

There is a passage in A Course in Miracles that says something to the effect that all of us are special and yet none of us are special. Does that sound like metaphysical psychobabble? It is not. In truth we are all one. You can base that statement on the scientific fact of quantum physics, the metaphysical law of universality or Jesus’ teaching of unity with the Father. We are all one. And yet, we are special. We are special because we get to individually express Spirit in a unique way that no one else can. We each have a gift to give to the world. If we are “hiding our light under a bushel basket” we are robbing people of the light we could be shining.

Do you really want to be equal, or do you want equality only when it suits you? Do you want to be special, but afraid that you will be called upon to do more than you are willing to do? Tough – that is life. But it is your life and you get to decide how to live it. The Universe will reflect back to us what we truly believe about ourselves. I would proffer to you that if you are currently experiencing doubt about the future or resistance from others around you to change then you are having reflected back to you your gravest fears and deepest reservations. No one is better than you, but what looks like inequality can often be the fact that someone else took an opportunity you missed. Claim your equality by taking the opportunities that are yours to enjoy. You are special – shine your light brightly, powerfully, loving and consistently, and let God show off through you!

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Dr. Terry