Skin

Hey.

Sorry to be neglecting you, my Lobolians, but as you all know, the press of life runs and chatters on indefinately, with little time to stop and allow gentle reflections in front of a computer screen. I know I have given that excuse before, but that is because it is a primary reason, not an excuse.

What should I discuss with you this fine afternoon? Just this morning many thoughts flittered through my head, asking to be blogged, and now I must decide on a topic to entertain my guests of the web.

Skin. Now there's a thing that we give so much power to, and as with all power, it needs to be disected and scrutinized regularly. (Just a side note-I came up with this topic after reading Kurt Vonnegut's novel thing Breakfast of Champions. A fascinating read, I recommend a bit of Vonnegut regularly for all. They are terrific reads.)

What the heck is it about skin color that makes people so darned obsessive? I have white skin, you have black skin, they have copper skin, he has red skin, she has yellow skin, why do martians have green skin mommy? Once you remove the skin, people are the SAME. We all have muscle. We all have bone. We all bleed when our skin gets ripped off of us. So why do we have to pay so much attention to the separator?

Part of the problem, no doubt, is the strange need some people have to become an individual first and foremost by declaring what it is they are not. I am not black skinned, I am not a Catholic, I am not an Irishman. Just for the record, I am none of those things either, but I do not define myself by them. There is just too much that I am not. I am not from Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, 51 Pegasi, Saturn, Gandymede, Titan, Pluto, Charon, Neputne, Tritan, or any of the astroids in the solar system, or Sirius' solar system, or any other solar system.
How hard is all that to say, and there are still lots and lots of places I am not from. Why not simply say I am from Earth? That narrows down many things, with one simple four word phrase. Much much simpler.

Why can't we all just say we are from Earth? Earth is, after all, a lovely little blue gem of a planet, filled with water, land, clouds, sea lions, and people. It is inhabited by a species demonstrating extraordinary abilities to discover things, both inside of ourselves and out. To find new sciences, love God or gods, make medicines capable of healing our ills, pain, sorrow. Why can't this species, these beings who declare themselves wise man, homo sapien, learn to understand what lies beneath? How many have to suffer under the cruelest of our creations, gas chambers, guns, lies, hate, before we learn our lesson. This month is intended to honor a race of humans subjected to tyranny of hatred, and a day of our solar year is going to be set aside to remember a man who defied his skin, while still loving it. Love yours, love the skin of whoever is sitting next to you, love the skin of humanity.

Roman Wolf

(Well worth waiting for, eh?)