Humanists more inclusive than feminists

I believe in the equal political, social, educational and professional rights of women. I also believe in the equal political, social, education and professional rights of men. I believe that any human, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or socioeconomic background should have the same rights as any other person. I believe that most people would agree with this. And yet, we still have feminists and meninsts and racists and bigots. Here’s why I don’t want to be a feminist: I want to be a humanist.

More than anything, I want to fight for every human to be treated as a human by all the other humans. We are one species. We are connected on a biological level. How does it make sense to judge someone for something they were born with, or to only fight for one specific group?

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” The greatest thing someone can do in this world is make someone feel like they are cared about, that they matter, that if they were to suddenly leave this world it would be noticed. We owe it to our species to care for each other, regardless of how we were born. We cannot do this if we focus on our hate toward one group or on the disrespect toward our own group, perceived or otherwise.

In one word: love. To be a humanist and fight for the rights of any and all humans, you need love. If you can focus on someone’s real intention and not how they might come across, if you can see the good in someone instead of their mistakes, if you can forgive, if you can open yourself up to loving another person, hate will dissipate. If each of us could dissolve our hate into love, then maybe we wouldn’t need feminists or meninists. We would see more equality grow naturally.

Nelson Mandela said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” The big word in humanity is human. Even here at Utah State, we are guilty of forgetting that we are all human and all going through the same core experience. Can we all just start assuming that every single one of us is stressed and stretched too thin and dealing with more than we think we can handle? Put aside our opinions and biases. We are all humans and we deserve to feel loved and accepted.

The world isn’t perfect, but as we begin to fill in society’s gaps as the older generations retire and move on to the next step, I believe beginning a legacy of love will change the world for better.

— Kasey Van Dyke is a five-year sophomore who can’t make up her mind about a major. Currently she is studying physics. That may change next week. She enjoys Diet Coke and South Park. Contact her at kaseyvandyke2@gmail.com.