We Need A Hero, One Who Can Reach Out To Everyone

 I always focus on my Happy Stone, as I call it. It can help me think more clearly because it reminds me that I can always choose to be happy, no matter what terrible shape the world is in around me. My Happy Stone also reminds me of my childhood in the 1970s, when people always reminded others to have a nice day with t-shirts, lunchboxes, posters, stickers, and other items that displayed the Happy Face. It was an encouraging signal to everyone; there was no threat, no condemnation, just letting people know that there was always a choice to be Happy if you chose to think about it.

We need that type of hero right now. It's a simple, everyday message that doesn't involve threatening others or promoting hatred and violence. We lost the feeling of encouraging happiness in the 1980s when Reagan and the Republicans introduced their“greed is good” philosophy. Suddenly, it became acceptable to care only about oneself at the expense of others. Instead of practicing compassion for the less fortunate, it turned into a blame game based on morality in the eyes of the Republicans. This clever trick manipulated their followers into believing that their view of society was based on individual accomplishments and that the idea of caring about others was wasteful and inefficient.

When someone is down on their luck, it isn't a moral failure that deserves cruelty and contempt. Blaming someone for a bad choice is one thing, but grouping everyone and discarding them based on your belief systems is wrong. I believe that the book Christians claim to value so much tells them that their behavior is wrong, yet they seem to ignore that teaching conveniently. As an atheist who gave up on religion many years ago, I can observe the difference between what religion preaches and what it practices from an objective point of view. I don't fear some invisible boogeyman punishing me for exercising my free will and questioning nature in pursuit of truth.

What is the harm in using the Happy Face symbol once again? We need a new approach to the world and the people around us that isn't dependent on religion as a societal governing philosophy. We must treat others with respect, regardless of their social condition. We should remember that one of our goals is to strive for equality of opportunity, not outcome. Sadly, we are no closer to equality of opportunity than we were 50 years ago. Privilege remains intact, and those who benefit from it are unwilling to surrender it for the benefit of all.

Equality of opportunity is not the same as equality of outcome. Ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity does not mean that the outcomes will all be equal, and that is fine; it is the opportunity we must focus on. Everyone will be better off because they will succeed according to their nature rather than being constricted by an unequal system that handicaps them from the start.

It would be wonderful to have a genuinely color-blind society, but that cannot happen while privilege exists, as privilege is all about protecting the status quo. Privilege encourages segregation and discrimination, as well as the moral judgment of individuals, attributing any difficulties to some moral shortcoming. Privilege is what billionaires seek to maintain. They promise that if they have more, somehow, it will make everyone better off. I believe that 5-year-old children can see the absurdity of that argument, and if the Republicans want to pursue that, I begin to question their intelligence. Over 40 years of “trickle-down” economics hasn't solved the problem. Aren't you tired of being pissed on? Isn't it about time that you get pissed off? How can we move forward as a society when this problem exists?

There is a growing call for resistance, and I agree with it. However, what will we do once the existing problems are corrected? I advocate for a return to our hero, my little Happy Stone, who can remind us that we are capable of great things when the arbitrary judgments of greed, privilege, and religion do not restrain us.