Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend, support, and photograph the Planned Parenthood – Bans Off Our Bodies Rally/March here in Orlando, Florida.

This is the first protest I have ever attended in my life and I was fortunate enough to attend with my wife Leslie and our friend Carrie.

Now I am not one who usually speaks up about politics. I have found that most political conversations don’t usually involve people being willing to listen and/or understand. They have their point of view, often a continuation of how they were raised, or they are regurgitating their religious point of view, and they are unwilling to see the other side, or reason that they could be wrong. This kind of thought process often leads to intense feelings of anger and hate, with each side vehemently defending their side and point of view, neither side being willing to listen and/or budge, and often ending in name-calling, threats, and sometimes violence.

It is a symptom of the indoctrination we impose upon our children. I believe the phrase goes something like “When I was born I was given a name, political party, and religion, and I spent the rest of my life trying to escape.” What is even worse is within the indoctrination we impose on children we also imprint upon them a fear that anyone who thinks, behaves, acts, or does differently than us is inherently dangerous, and therefore must be crushed into submission.

This is what our political system has become. Two sides feel the other side is wrong, and so each side takes up arms against the other, trying to force each side to live and act in accordance with their beliefs.

Now I am not a political scientist, nor am I a politician or lawyer, so I am no expert when it comes to speaking on matters of law. However much has been written about the subject of Roe v Wade by people much smarter and much more informed than I, and I encourage you to read all you can.

What I can say is this. Yesterday’s rally/march was a community of people standing up for what they believed. They did so without violence, and walked side by side, together, in solidarity. As I watched my wife take a stand and walk for what she knew was right I was incredibly proud of her.

The issue of Roe v Wade is an important issue to be sure, and I encourage all of you to listen to those more knowledgeable than I and be willing to see things from their point of view. Forcing people to act, behave, or live as you have never in the history of the world gone well for anyone, and I hope that we do not try to do such things to the women of our country in the future.