Send In the Clowns

"We cross the infinite with every step, and encounter the eternal with every second." Rabindranath Tagore

"I believe each human being has the potential to change, to transform one's own attitude, no matter how difficult the situation. We are human beings, and we have this marvelous brain and marvelous heart, so there is potential to develop a proper mental attitude through which we can have a happy, more peaceful life." Dalai Lama

Clowns are supposed to be funny yet in the circus they also have a serious job. They are the distraction in case of problems to get others to safety. Clowns are seen everywhere from the circus to McDonalds but for many children clowns are terrifying. Stephen King capitalized on this fear with his book It.

One of my favorite songs is Send in the Clowns. It is a very poignant song and I love hearing it sung well and indeed singing it myself. It is a song of loss and sadness.

The news has been full of Don Inmus and his slurs lately but I have to wonder if we haven't set ourselves up for that kind of behavior. It seems every big city has their own "shock jocks" and they get big ratings. Do we listen to them because we are hoping they will mirror our own prejudices and say what we can not say? Why listen to them? I find them offensive and refuse to listen to them because I don't think they are funny or worth my time.

Meredith Viera had a very important point when she asked Al Sharpton why he doesn't go after black rap artists who use the same language that Don Inmus used. He didn't really answer. So I am asking him and Jesse Jackson straight out. When are you going to go after the black rap artists who use the same offensive terms that you condemn white people for using? They are denigrating your own people. What is offensive out of a white mouth is still offensive out of a black mouth. Racial slurs are racial slurs no matter who says them.

It is time that all people stop and take a good look at themselves and how they perceive themselves and others.  If you are using slurs against your own ethnic background you are hurting your people just as much as you hurt other ethnic backgrounds if you use slurs against them. You need to respect yourself and your ethnic background and others and their ethnic background. When you put someone else down because of their race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ethnic background or beliefs you are showing the corruption of your own soul. You are exposing to the world that you are a hypocrite and a bigot. You can not use the excuse well he is a (fill in the blank) and needs to be condemned because you are a bigot and the condemnation comes back on your own head.

As the Dalai Lama has said we have the potential to change for good. We need to stop bigotry but we need to stop it everywhere. If your own people are using bigotry and obscenities towards your own speak out and try and stop it. It is hypocritical to go after others if you refuse to go after your own. Stop all bigotry.

As the song says send in the clowns, don't bother their here.

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