That’s the thought, the hope, and the vision I cling to for 2013 and beyond. I may be a dreamer, but some dreams are worth holding on to, even in the face of seeming defeat.

With passionate hatred and bloodshed between opposing religious factions at fever pitch, the persecution of those who fall outside religiously-approved relationship ‘norms’, the repression of human nature demanded within religious sects, the molestation of innocence covered up and at its most rampant, religious leaders ‘buying’ political favour, luxuriating in tax free-wealth, the greed of governments for votes above all else, with deaf ears falling on the plight of the many in favour of the few, where tyranny rules and human decency has become the exception rather than the rule, it seems as though the world has grown more twisted and ugly than ever before.

Or perhaps it’s just the variety of global social media that’s opened up a veritable plethora of communication pathways, making it appear that way. We’re bombarded with news of events now in the blink of an eye and from every corner of the globe. Perhaps it’s always been as ugly as it is now.

It almost seems hopeless.

Almost.

The youth of the world are putting those of us who should know better, to shame. Has anyone listened to them lately? From universities the world over, to kindergartens, their voice is the same: it’s a voice of love, pleading for reason, logic, justice and sanity.

Theirs is the rising voice of open, honest, questioning of an outdated and suffocating status quo, a desire for open dialogue to cut through the dark quagmire of extremism and the religious constructs that have imposed current social phobias, stigmas, and fear towards those deemed ‘different’; those who don’t ‘conform’.

Theirs is a sense of compassion, a sincere desire to see a fair, level-headed, and just society, where one may worship their god(s) in peace, with dignity and freedom, without fear for their lives, without ridicule and acts of hatred by other denominations; where all walks of life and religious backgrounds live side-by-side in harmony and mutual respect.

Their vision is for a world where same-sex relationships aren’t seen as ‘filth’, but poetry and beauty; accepted as natural, normal, valid, and healthy expressions of love.

Their vision for the world sees governments stick to the business of governance (not dominance and oppression), divorced from corporate interests; where religion and politics have no business in bed together; where religious leaders – and their deeds – are transparent, and where women in every corner of the globe are treated with the respect and equality they’ve been denied, and which is their right to take for granted, in every aspect life – particularly spiritually.

For the most part, this current generation of youth struggle to comprehend the world as it is – its injustices, inequalities, and hate-based violence – and that’s to be applauded. They see no difference in race, colour, creed, or sexual preference – and they’re a blessing to the future – to their own future. 

It will surely be an enormous relief to see the current ‘old guard’ – those upholders of cruel and twisted discriminations, corporate greed, and religious fanaticisms – retire and die out, leaving today’s youth free to create a better world. They shouldn’t have to create it alone. We should be handing them a world well on its way to being what they desire and deserve.

I hope theirs will be a world where reason, logic, equity, compassion, and the truest sense of ‘justice’, prevails; the current insanities, no more than dark pages in a history they’ll be vigilant against repeating.

© MyHeathenHeart