Illustrated Shakespeare

Hate Crimes have been on my mind all month. This month marked the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death, more headlines about a hate crime that was caught on video, and finally that passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Act. In the background is a copy of the Bill of Rights. This is a reminder of the concepts advanced by John Locke who advanced the notion that each individual is free and equal in nature. Locked also argued that the will of the majority must preserve the rights of the minority. These seem to be lost concepts when it comes to rights for LBGT peoples. In the middle ground is a cacophony of headlines about hate crimes or other evidence of oppression of gay people. In the foreground is a young man with a blackened eye who was the victim of a hate crime. The message in the piece is "This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True." No matter who you are or what you believe, I encourage the Biblical admonition, "whenever possible, live peaceably among men."