Human First

I believe religion creates unnecessary conflicts between humans of the same and different races. Since the dawn of time countless wars have been fought and conflicts have been started over the ideals of religion. The Crusades by Christians into the Middle East, the conflict in Darfur, and the Holocaust during World War II are all examples of this. Throughout history millions have been slaughtered in the name of religion and thousands of people are terrorized or killed everyday by religious conflicts in the Middle East and African nations. I believe this is the greatest threat man kind faces, greater then nuclear weapons or poverty. Man continues to tear themselves apart by religious beliefs, by something they read in a book. I believe this is a tragedy.

In my sophomore year in high school I read the book Night by Elie Wiesel. I read about the atrocities committed by the Nazis, the horrid conditions the Jews faced for years. They had to live with minimal food, a lack of personal hygiene, and continuous work and torture. I asked myself what did these people do to deserve this suffering? The answer was simple, just because they were Jewish. Hitler and the Nazis persecuted and committed genocide against these people just because they were Jewish. The Nazis killed over ten million people, slaughtered them like animals because of religion. Even the so called “greatest country in the world” the United States has divided itself by religion since its beginning. The most prominent of which is the Ku Klux Klan who terrorize and killed members of different religions, not because they did anything, just based on their beliefs.

I believe we must take a step back; we must stop all of the violence, the torture, the persecution. I believe we must look at our similarities instead of our small differences. I believe we shouldn’t define ourselves by what religion we are. I believe we are an entity greater then Christians or Jews, Muslims or Buddhists’, or Sunni or Shi’a. I believe we should unite as one single race, unite as one people. I believe we are all humans first.