What If...?

It always amazes me just how many prejudice people there are out there.  A big part of why our world has become such an unpeaceful place to live is because of the fact that too many people no longer "love thy neighbor".
It doesn't matter what color your skin is - for as long as it's a different color then someone elses you're pretty much guarenteed that you'll be made fun of or, even worse, hated on.
People get hated on for being too skinny.  They get hated on for being too fat.  They get hated on for being too outspoken.  They get hated on for being too shy.
And heaven forbid if you're gay.
I can not even begin to express how important it is for me to make absolutely, positively, without a doubt sure that my children grow up to have not even ONE prejudice bone in their body.  For not even one is acceptable.
We are all born color blind.  My wish is for my children to remain color blind through out their entire lives.  When they look at a person I want them not to notice their skin color, but to notice the sparkle in their eyes & the brightness in their smile.  If they feel the need to judge someone, I want them to judge them by their character, not by their physical appearance.
We are all human beings, are we not?  We may have many differences, but we all have one thing in common; we all have a beating heart.  This beating heart is what makes us human.
Humanity.
It still exists.  These days it seems like it no longer exists in a lot of places but one place it will always exist is here in my home.
I am 35 1/2 yrs old and I've been color blind all my life.  I'm proud to say that I am not a prejudice person.  In my eyes, we are all equal.
Recently a few of our friends made some careless, prejudice remarks on Facebook.  These friends are also parents of young children.  These friends are around the same age as me.  As I sat there reading their remarks (which I do not feel are necessary, or even worthy, of repeating) I felt a sense of saddness wash over me.  Saddness for them.  Saddness for their children.  Saddness for this world that we live in.  And one question kept running through my mind...over and over and over again;
What if...?
What if my husband was black?
What if my children were black?
How would I feel then about all of the careless, prejudice remarks people make regarding skin color?
What if one, or all, of my children end up being gay?  Do you really think, for even one second, that I would love them any less?  Who am I to tell them who they should fall in love with?   Who am I to pass judgement?
One prejudice comment that someone recently said has really stuck in my brain over these past few weeks.  They said "Soon gay people will be allowed to get married in a church and that will be our sign that the world is coming to an end.."
No.  No, it's not a sign that the world is coming to an end.  A gay person is still a person.  A person who has rights.  A person who deserves to be treated with the same respect you expect to be treated with.  A person who has a heart.  Same as you.
What if you were black?
What if you had children who were black?
What if you were gay?
Then what?
I believe, with all my heart, in every single word of this song:
~John Lennon:
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one

What if we all could imagine those things?
Sure would be a nicer, kinder, more humane place for our children to grow up.