Peanut butter, banana and mayonnaise should never be on the same sandwich.
I work with a woman who loves peanut butter, banana and mayonnaise sandwiches. She adores the taste and constructs this culinary oddity during lunch quite often. Just the thought of puttting these foods together is appalling to me, but her sigh of contentment after taking the first bite is almost comical.
Should I banish her from the kitchen? Should I tell everyone this woman is crazy and doesn't understand the finer points of cusine? Should I say she can't possibly do her job because she doesn't eat the way I do? Should she be fired and all her insane ingredients thrown away?
Should she tell my co-workers that I don't get it? Maybe she should stand on the workroom table and shout at the top of her lungs how unfair my judgment is. Perhaps she should take out a full page ad declaring that PB, B & M should be a universally accepted sandwich from this day forward.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
Does she have the RIGHT to eat any sandwich she desires? Of course, she does. Is it going to change the cosmic order of things if I accept her penchant for these sandwiches? Absolutely not. The sun will continue to rise each morning, I will continue to breathe each day (God willing), and Earth will keep spinning as it always does.
I don't have to agree with it or share lunch with her. I have admired this woman for years, and that admiration is in place whether or not she eats one of those dreaded PB, B & Ms. By the same token, she knows that she will never share her lunch with me, and she's never once complained about my distaste for her concoction.
I can't even look at the gooey mess she creates, but I will fight for my co-worker's RIGHT to eat one every day at every meal if that is what she wants.
However, my stand on the issue of PB, B & M sandwiches is not the point of this post.
Let's keep our eye on the big banana here.
Freedom of speech is for everyone of diverse opinions and beliefs. The louder we scream to force an issue, the more harm is done. There's no unity or tolerance involved - on either side.
Are our lives so shallow that we don't have more pressing issues to keep us occupied? Are we so bored that we must take up the "cause of the week" and march in the streets, creating a media frenzy, because someone disagreed with us? Really?
Name one - just one - issue on which we ALL agree.
Freedom goes both ways, pro and con. Don't try to silence someone because he/she doesn't acquiesce to your point of view. If you want people to listen and respect your voice, then give others that same consideration - regardless of which side you're on.
I fully anticipate having mushy PB, B & Ms hurled my way, but that's okay. I respect your right to disagree with me. Eat as many of them as you want.
All I ask is that you respect my right to disagree with you.
