We all claim the right to be different;

We all claim the right to be wrong;

We all claim the right to beat our own drum

And the right to sing our own song.

 

We all claim the right to make choices,

God’s given us each a free will.

We all claim the right to take chances

And hope that our luck’s holding still.

 

Our choices and chances are ours,

And no one can take them away,

But consequence follows for certain

As surely as night follows day.

 

Not only our rights and our choices

Should guide what we say and we do,

But duty, respect and compassion

And responsibility too!

 

A person’s a person regardless

The chances and choices they’ve made;

And God loves each one beyond measure,

For each one the price has been paid.

 

Each one has the choice to accept it;

Each one has the chance to come home.

Each one has the choice to reject it

And live for themselves alone.

 

A coin has two sides that are different,

As different as heads are from tails,

The value’s the same when we spend it.

And that’s where our claim to rights fails.

 

No matter how flimsy the paper

Clear writing on both sides we find;

What we claim and demand for ourselves,

We must give to all others in kind.