If you call me a derogatory name because of my heritage, that cost me nothing. I lose nothing because of what you say or the opinion that you hold. If I fall and break my leg and you don’t help me up, that’s okay. If you vote differently or support something I do not, that’s okay too. If you refuse to back off of a principle I do not hold, I will not hold it against you. If you choose to allow something to come between us, I will still meet you in the middle if you decide to remove it. And I do this because your right to see, believe and choose matters to me. It matters more than our differences and the fears which divide. It matters because the greatest right we have is choice. Choice is synonymous with freedom and freedom survives because of respect. It is your right to choose a master of fear or one of faith. It is your right follow or to lead. It is your right to love or to hate. And it is your right to fight or lay down your arms. And it is everyone’s choice to show respect for others’ right to choose. So choose for others that which you choose for yourself.

C.L. Harmon