Dear Gay-Straight Alliance, I am writing this to give you my support as you strive to maintain peace within your community

and among people of various beliefs and identities. When we display hate and intolerance toward those we believe are inferior, we often do not know what what we are doing. Believing that someone is inferior because they are different stems from very prehistoric and animalistic roots. Humans have the capacity to show empathy and compassion, and if we do not follow these unique and integral traits that define us, than we are, indeed, mere apes. Let us look to the examples of Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and others like them and strive for peace amidst a storm of fire. When we obsess over artificial labels and think some to be above others, we often forget the truth--that we are human, all designed in the same way as every other. We all feel happy, and we all feel sad. We all want acceptance and we all want to be loved. If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, etc, and have been treated unequally due to being so, the only solution is to be the change you want to see. If you want justice, be just. If you want peace, be a peacemaker. Only by doing good amidst adversity can real change be brought about. I congratulate the Gay-Straight Alliance for willing to do so and wanting to see positive change come about in the world. Peace all, Samuel Tarasenko