The Rights Of Women And People Of Color - 1396 Words

In the past two centuries the primary groups which had to fight for such rights were women and people of color. Now in the twenty-first century, a new group which knows no color and/or gender are verbally attacked for such ideas. This community is the homosexual community. Although there is more of a tolerance of homosexual citizens, in general they are still discriminated because often times one is not willing to accept a different lifestyle but rather practice ignorance to the situation. The idea of love for one another is nothing new. It is something that one learns overtime and practices over time. It is a fundamental human right for one to receive respect from peers despite being different. But rather punish one for practicing†¦show more content†¦Fr. Osterreicher argues in his essay â€Å"Nostra Aetate† that all people, despite many different backgrounds are all the same, â€Å"All men form but one community. 1 This is because all stem from one stock which God created to the people the entire earth (cf. Acts 17:26)† (Osterreicher 2). This is not mainly a religious issue but a personal issue that affects us all and for that a call to tolerance means understanding one individual and his/her life. Another way that such a just world is possible is if one refuses to be ignorant and believes in stereotypes. As human beings, we are called to love one another and respect another as well as opinions and lifestyle and yet it is often difficult to do such a thing. There are many reasons why it is difficult to accept a person because of who they are. The most common reason is as said before, one is taught the various prejudices about a group. This happens for many reasons. Often times the ignorance is bliss mantra wins out in philosophy and becomes the normal thought. One is ignorant because one is afraid to challenge the status quo due to retribution. The community is however not the only ones at fault. Usually it also the stereotypes told by outside sources that cause such fear and lack of knowledge. Such is the case for homosexuals in America and other parts of the world. In the 1980’s it was rumored that the AIDS epidemic was started with homosexual