But I'd also like to be mindful of how far we've come and to be gentle with those who are still making the mental and social journey to where we are today. Sure, it would be even more awesome if we lived in a world of equal treatment for all, without bias or preconceived notions, but you know what? We are getting there. We're moving forward on this journey. We have gay rights. We have non-binary genders. We have the right to marry whomever we please, regardless of their skin color. We elected a Black man as President, and soon we might elect a woman (at long last). We're gaining the upper hand.
Naturally, the opposition is hurling ever greater vitriol in our direction. They're cornered and lashing out. So while we're embracing our progressive natures, while we're calling out biased behavior, let's not stoop to their level. The internet, in particular, has magnified and multiplied the amount of snark in every discussion. It allows for pettiness, meanness, and flat-out cruelty. How is this okay? How is it acceptable to call Donald Trump a moron while criticizing him for doing exactly the same thing to others? That's not progress; that's hypocrisy.
I consider myself a liberal. I embrace the idea of a post-racial, post-gender, post-human future where equal treatment is normative behavior, not something that's only mandated by law. I come from a country with a codified caste system. I get the difference between legality and reality. But that same country also embraces personal responsibility. It birthed one of the more famous non-violent, civil disobedience movements. So I say to the upcoming generations of progressives: You don't win people to your cause by acting like assholes. That's a tool of oppression.
Unconscious bias lives within us all. We need to stay aware of ours even as we look to others, even the older generations of progressives. Most of them are trying to keep up, even if they aren't moving fast enough for today's rate of change. They fought the establishment, too. They took beatings, they absorbed scorn, they stood fast and raised their voices -- and they did it for us, that we could live in a better world.
And it is better. The USA that we live in today has the most equitable society of its history. Let's move forward together in kindness and respect, not spewing insults and heaping scorn like our regressive opponents. As we reach ever higher on the scale of social progress, let's be mindful of how far we've climbed and be gentle with the shoulders upon which we stand.