An old write; somehow fits this day

He looks like my friend” is how my grandson described his new friend as I quizzed him on his new school and how he was adapting socially. He was telling me that he had made quite a few new buddies; so I asked if he wanted to have one over to play with him; somehow I asked him what his new friend looked like; I don’t know why; it came out of my mouth. He stared back at me and gave me his response; I was amazed; and taken back at how this four year old had but me in my place……. in the simplest of terms he told me; no more, no less, he had not judged him by appearance; but by the ultimate fact that they found a common bond, whether it be legos or Star Wars, they were friends.

As adults, we tend to be much more defined in our friendships, we judge by looks, clothes, cars and just about anything else that defines what we want to portray ourselves to the public eye. Of course we are not always what we dress ourselves as; many people are way deep into MasterCard and ready for debtor’s prison but on the outside; they look like Donald Trump with better hair.

Unfortunately people perceive that all races and/or religions are the same; they group people together with their heritage as a common denominator. Much amazed I am that in this day and age there remains so many preconceived notions regarding people of various races or creeds. Tying together ethnic origins drives me crazy. Expressions which characterized certain nationally are just wrong; true each nationality has their own set of quirks; but so many generations have passed from the origin of birth and most have been so Americanized it just does not make any sense to lump them all together. What startles me most is the acceptance of these racial/religious
slurs and jokes; it is just not right; funny maybe; but not nice.

Yes, we seek comfort in people who are similar to ourselves in likes and dislikes but we learn from others not in our realm of our security if we learn to branch out.

From the looks of it; my grandson won’t have any difficulty accepting people for what they are; not how they look; I hope people accept him for just what he is; a kind young man; with the ability to read people and accept them for what they mean to him as an individual.