The fact of the matter is humans like to fight.

Argue, challenge, disagree, confront, dominate–call it what you would like, but human beings love to mix it up. If enough people read this essay, someone, somewhere, will disapprove of the sentence I used to begin it. (“It’s practically a fragment!”)

We have struggled since we learned to think. (I would say that we struggled since “time in memoriam,” but I don’t think I’m using that phrase right, or spelling it correctly. Am I? Bah. It doesn’t matter.) We’ve fought a long time.

At the time of this writing, us Americans are concerned about 1)Abortion rights in Texas; 2)Abortion rights in North Carolina; 3)Abortion rights in any state that is dominated by Republicans; 4)The Egyptian Uprising of 2013; 5)The George Zimmerman trial. 6)The way that America is being taken away from them by the other political party.

(Full disclosure: When I say “us Americans,” I am referring to those that bother to engage with political matters via Twitter. I have no idea what the rest of the country is concerned with. My Facebook friends simply want to re-post George Takei pictures/puns. I assume that everyone I don’t know is watching reality TV or shopping on QVC. So this is in no way a scientifically-based essay.)

The existence of our species has been entirely based upon THE STRUGGLE.

When we’re not focused on political struggles, when we take a moment to look within, we see that THE STRUGGLE rages furious within our private thoughts, too. You know what you struggle with. I do not need to speak for you. But, regardless of the George Zimmerman verdict, most of you reading this wonder if you could have done things differently.

I contend that the struggle, (my apologies, but I am not going to capitalize it again, as I am not a revolutionary in Che Guevarra’s army), is essential to our humanity. We are constantly fighting. Is it because we know that we are going to die? Perhaps. Is it because we want things to be different? Perhaps. Is it because we expect things to be better?

Perhaps.

I hate fighting.

But it’s essential to our humanity.

I think my biggest worry is that I’m not fighting for the right things.

Fighting forces us to explore the way we think. It’s only when you are confronted with an opposing believe that you realize that other people might think differently than you do. It’s not healthy to live in a bubble. It’s impossible to make everyone happy…but it is incredibly stupid to think that everyone believes what you believe. It’s only through the struggle that we learn that there are different viewpoints.

In the long run, I am not worried about women’s health, as it is being attacked by Republican states across this supposedly great nation of ours. Eventually, sanity will prevail. Because this legislation will have consequences. If you wish to outlaw safe abortion clinics, damn you, but God bless you. (Full disclosure: I’m an atheist.) And women will attempt to abort babies, anyway. And many more young, desperate women will die because of your callousness. You are doing this to them. And your laws will change. Unfortunately, many women will die in the process. But every struggle has its martyrs.

We take two steps forward and one step back. No advantage granted via the legal system should ever be taken for granted. We must fight. We must stand vigilant.

And when we are dealt blows and our rights are setback, then we must coalesce our forces and hit the legislatures harder than before.

And if that doesn’t work I guess we just have to move to Canada.