To me, few ideals in life are more important than truth and honesty. I do my very best to integrate them into my life, but there are times when total honesty can cause problems. Over the course of my life I have met many people who were incapable of accepting perspectives different from their own. Dealing with these people can be quite difficult.

      My family had instilled in me the philosophy that we can learn from one another. The greater the apparent differences seemed, the more we can learn and grow from the exchange of ideas. It's a wonderful theory, but it breaks down when the person you're speaking to refuses to accept the credibility of your views. This first became obvious to me while I was in the navy.

      A conversation about religion had come up and I was asked my opinion. Being naive, I was honest and explained the basics of shamanism to them. Quickly the conversation turned ugly and I left. The situation finally culminated into two attempts on my life and numerous beatings. To alleviate the tension the captain transferred me to another location off of the ship where I served the rest of my term.

      I have had similar problems from explaining my sexuality to a person who couldn't keep their mouth shut. This incident did not result in physical violence, but it still shows the same pattern of ignorance. Ignorance has a short attention span, after a while I was forgotten and their focus moved on. As a result my innocence had finally been dispelled.

      I have learned over the years when to be silent, when to speak, and when to defend my viewpoints from opposition. The concept of discrimination is alien to me, yet I realize that to many others it is a way of life. Perhaps some day we, as a species, will be able to accept each other if not understand our differences. It is our diversity that makes us human, yet that diversity may be our greatest weakness or our salvation.

by Tache