I feel sad.

I am an English Cypriot, I am male, I am tall, and I am from a certain city, a certain street, a certain house, a certain family. I am so many things that you are not, and I feel very sad because of this. I know you might not like me for the things I am, you might even hate me, without even knowing me, and I might hate you back. I know that it would not be easy for you to like me if I was from Germany and you were Jewish, if I was Jewish and you were Palestinian, if I was Turkish and you were Greek or Cypriot. Even if I am with one sports team and you are with another, it would be very easy for you to throw rocks at me, stab me or hurt me in any way you can, and be happy and cheerful in doing so.

We divide ourselves in so many ways, maybe in every conceivable way we can, within society, culture, religion, ethnicity, sports, color and so on. Do we really consider ourselves so different from each other? Do we have to hate each other to survive? Is this where civilization leads to or is it something that goes even further back?

We have our sights set on goals, and we step on each other, kick, punch, scream, and kill each other to reach those goals. The consequences are merely collateral damage, no matter who we disembowel on our road to glory. This is truly one of life’s most frustrating subjects, to those who realize what is happening. Peace, love and understanding sound so alien to ones ear. These are words only hippies use and uneducated pot heads, or at least this is what is believed by the masses. These values are nowhere to be seen or heard of today. How beautiful it would be if each of us treated other people in general as a loving brother and sister. But instead we are led to believe that life is tough and you should be tough in return to survive and get what you want, you should fight for your country and your flag, which is merely land and fabric, you should defend your honor pride and beliefs from the enemy, the enemy which is everyone but you and the people like you, you should turn others into your followers, make them obey, and if they do not, simply kill, kill, kill.

We draw borders outside our houses, where our cities are, where our countries end. We also draw borders which include our religions, our beliefs, our certain social status and economic status. Do we not realize that the real borders are drawn in our minds and hearts? From the moment there is a border mankind is limited, and from the moment we are limited we cannot reach our full potential. Who is to blame for all this? I believe each and every one of us. There is no peace if there is no world peace, there is no love if you do not love everyone, and there is no happiness if people are dying of hunger, diseases, and constant fighting. I know that death and diseases are part of nature and the circle of life, I am not ignorant, but I do believe that sorrow can be lessened, and we can even bring an end to it, if we set aside what we consider our differences, and try to work together as the mankind we truly are.

We are one.

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