Diva by Design

I'm upset about something and I would like you to know about it. I had a conversation with someone yesterday and they were looking down on people on the right. They were like, I can't stand them, they are so stupid. They also looked down on the media on the right and told me real media are on the left. They told me that as a journalist, my job is not just to report the news but also to fight oppression coming from the right. Needless to say that it was an uncomfortable conversation and we decided to end it. You see, I have such conversations with people regularly, and my answer is the same. First of all, I'm personally facing oppression from @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre @WhiteHouse. Second, it's false to claim that there are saints on this side and demons on that side. Third, it's also false to claim that intelligent people are on this side, and unintelligent people are on that side. Fourth, it's false as well to claim that there are racists on this side and holy angels on that side. Fifth, people are people, it's better to open your heart, embrace all people, all races, accept the fact that people come in all sizes, all shapes, all backgrounds, and there is nothing like the good people are here and the bad ones are there. Finally, to be a good journalist is simple. All you need to do is to take off your mask, your prejudices, your biases, your beliefs and approach people with humility, an open mind and heart, not with arrogance and judgement, and you will discover that much of what you thought you knew about them was false. Life is short and beautiful, enjoy it, open your arms and mind and let in new people, new thoughts, new places and cultures.

I sat down in my old church here in Columbia Height area of Washington DC. Vice President Mike Pence also came in and sat down behind me. President Trump had gone to Florida to rest and play golf. 99.9 percent of churchgoers were liberals. They became so outraged that Pence was in the church and wanted him gone. In small groups, many threatened to leave the church as he kept showing up on Sundays. They wanted the pastor to tell him he was not welcome because he was Trump's deputy and therefore a racist as well. I posted the incident on Facebook but the church reached out to me to delete it, citing his security and I did. I began to realize that even in church, even in Jesus Christ's house, tolerance is scarce. When people ask me, how did I become who I am, my answer is the same as ever. I made the decision to become rational. I dropped my own mask, a mask that makes us think that we are better than others, either in the White House or in God's House. We do not say it loud, but we often believe that we are more righteous than others, more intelligent than others, wiser than others, and more valuable than others. We become entitled, look down on others, and think that by 'allowing them' to be in our presence, we are doing them a favor. But, after my mental and spiritual transformation, I said to myself, I will never see myself as inferior or superior to anyone. That's why at the White House, I have never told anyone their question was stupid or blocked them from taking an empty seat. I'm not entitled to anything. I am just me, not attacking anyone, not gossiping about anyone, not claiming that I'm better than anyone. Just living my life, just trying to be successful and happy for the time that I have to live.