Pride and Prejudice

I know that I am behind the times and quite a few of you when it comes to this piece of literary masterpiece.  Now, that being said, I have watched the movie with Kiera Knightley twice in the last week.  I have not read the book, which I fully intend on doing somewhere in between all of the designing and shipping and billing and whatnot a family life entails.

However, here is what I have taken away from this:

A woman, a sister, a daughter, a lady whom loves her family fiercely and as such is quite ahead of her time in how she protects them.  Speaking out against not only the upper crust of society's women folk who decide that she and/or family are to be put in their place about who or whom they are to marry.  Especially when Mr. Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth.  However, this love affair is complicated by the fact that Ms. Elizabeth finds Mr. Darcy repugnant because she thinks that just because he is wealthy, he has disdain for her and her family.  This is not true, he actually loves her.  There is intelligent back and forth, while he works through his inability to speak straightforth to Ms. Elizabeth and she learns to see him for who he is and not how much he has.  Finally, they both get over their own pregjudicial designs but alas, it is not that easy.  His aunt pays Ms. Elizabeth a visit in the middle of the night demanding that Ms. Elizabeth promise to never to accept a proposal of marriage from Mr. Darcy as he has been bethrothen to his cousin since birth.  Now, in the course of this intrusive and unexpected conversation, which by our standards today was rather civilized, Ms. Elizabeth appears to have keep her tongue, while being berated and insulted by the aunt.

However, once the aunt demands she promise to never accept a proposal of marriage from Mr. Darcy, even though she does not think it will ever happen, Ms. Elizabeth refuses.  The reason?  Because the aunt came into their house insulting Ms. Elizabeth and her entire family.  That was and never will be acceptable to Ms. Elizabeth. 

Now, we as parents do this for our children, and spouses do this for each other.  Eventually, children do that same for parents.  But, do you ever wonder what the world would be like if we did this for the rest of the community, the state, the country, the world?

Can you imagine if, instead of trying to destroy each other, we did everything we can to help each other?  Instead of trying to "win" more than you, I cooperated with you and we both reaped the rewards?

Think on that for awhile, watch Pride and Prejudice and look at yourself to see what prejudices you have that may be keeping you from loving someone for who they really are, or being friends with someone because they may be above or below your "station", or hating someone simply because of the color of their skin, the pronunciation of their name or the country they were born in, and decide are you willing to make a change and swallow your "pride?"

It all starts with me, and I heard the word "GO!"  Are you going to catch up?