The American Way
Throughout the two-hour period of time, while the four drank coffee and continued their heated conversation, the waitress listened carefully. She processed all that was being said and her heart went out to the two young people. They were friends of hers. Couldn't these people see just a little bit beyond their differences into the hearts of their children? Couldn't they understand that love could overcome all opposition?
The waitress could see no point in any of the misguided logic of people who were supposed to be adults. From what she could tell, they were acting like children fighting over a toy. Catholic. Protestant. Pentecostal. Black. White. Native American. Chinese. Japanese. Brown. Yellow. Purple.
Regardless of the color of their skin or the origin of their faith all human beings have the same red blood running through their veins. That was the waitress's thought then; that is her thought now - as she writes these words.
In the end, they left this little town for places more tolerant. They married. They had children. And they were happy.
The waitress on the other hand (that would be me - the author) came to learn something very important about herself. Wherever she went, whenever the conversation, she would always defend the rights of the heart to love whomever it chose. For her efforts, she would realize there are very few who appreciate the mixing of races or cultures.
She suffered the discipline of her father's heavy hand for the defense of Mexicans and blacks when hearing his racially motivated slurs and jokes. She suffered the intolerance of society as she grew above small-town mentality and cared little for what they thought of her ideas.
In Minnesota, she defended the Native Americans. Not on a large scale - just whenever she heard conversation that left a sour taste in her mouth. What right, she thought, did anyone have to treat the only people who truly are Americans with such disrespect. The entire population of the United States with the exception of Native American Indians are foreigners. Therefore, she would ask, what right anyone has to make such comments as they were making. What right did they have to act so superior? How would they live under the same circumstances? Would they be so easily subdued?
Nearly 10 years ago now, the waitress was introduced to life in the
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