Persons are persons

Persons are persons 
And should be treated like persons
With compassion and kindness
With mercy and grace
With dignity and respect
The same way we would want others
To treat us

This is a very simple concept
But exceedingly hard to internalize
In our heads
In our hearts
And embarrassingly hard to actualize
In our deeds
In our words

Because persons are persons 
And should be treated like persons
With compassion and kindness
With mercy and grace
With dignity and respect
The same way we would want others
To treat us

Yet we find ingenious reasons
To justify why we don’t do this
But it really really really doesn’t matter
What color their skin is
What language they speak 
What food they smell like
Where they call home
What borders they crossed to get here
When they were born
What parents raised them
What friends they have
Who they choose to love
How they form a family 
What genitals they have
What shape their body is in
What is in their skull
What is in their wallet
What brands they wear
What they check in the ballot box
Why they get out of bed every morning
Whether they pray at night
And what Name they pray to

“It doesn’t matter?!?”
Our lizard brain screams
“But what about...?”
Shhhhhhh. 
Breathe. 
Maybe they need to change. 
But maybe we need to change too. 
And that change cannot happen
If motivated by hatred, fear, apathy, or cruelty
True change, real change, deep change
Can only happen if we remember:

Persons are persons 
And should be treated like persons
With compassion and kindness
With mercy and grace
With dignity and respect
The same way we would want others
To treat us