This past election season and a string of events has brought out the true face of many people. I have attempted to be vocal about my opinions, respectful regardless of a person’s stance, and understanding. This isn’t just about the election either. This is also about the silence of people that don’t acknowledge what is happening in the world, the people who deny basic science and facts to prove points, and those who stand by what they say after being proven incorrect. Let’s make this clear: opinions are formed from values and beliefs. It is okay to have different opinions, but the root of all opinions must be facts. Without facts, your opinion is baseless and indefensible. So why is it that people continue to stand by their arguments without these facts, or after being corrected by others with facts? The issue is a lack of humility.

The point of discussing issues with others is to find a common ground and branch from there. Together you learn, understand each other’s side of the argument and dismantle each point. That is working together to actively learn. That is how we move forward together. Sadly, this is rarely the case. To avoid personal attacks, let’s take for example our soon-to-be vice president, Mike Pence. Pence, to put it kindly, is incredibly uneducated. That is an understatement. He is a theocrat that places conservative Christianity at the forefront of his policies. Religion should not mix with politics, but that is a whole other story. The bigger issue is that this mindset makes him deny science and numbers. He believes smoking does not kill; the common lobbyist argument against that is that there is no definitive proof that smoking is the cause of death. This is true. Rather, it comes from the infinite complications resulting from smoking and there is insurmountable evidence that those who smoke have a significant chance in developing lung cancer, will have a shorter lifespan, and more. IFLSCIENCE provides us with more facts, and the exact argument that Pence used. But this is just one of many including the denial of global warming and climate change, the belief that being a non-straight individual is a disease, and the list can go on and on.

Mike Pence is just the exemplar of the issue, though. These fallacies and spineless arguments spread and confuse people. Even for people who are educated enough to know better, their stances on politics aren’t often backed by numbers. Several people argued that third party voters were the reason Clinton lost, but anyone that saw the popular vote numbers and understands the Electoral College knows that there would not have been a difference. I had people argue that I needed to support Clinton over Bernie Sanders because she was more experienced and had a better chance at defeating Trump, but anyone that saw the polls knew that Bernie was doing three times as well as Clinton against Trump and that Bernie’s policies were more beneficial to them- yet they still argued. People argued that the police must be respected and the Black Lives Matters movement was racist, while the movement was born from the racism against blacks and the police have rarely made efforts to correct themselves or their officers for performing clear injustices. People argued that Trump would destroy ISIS, when the reality is that ISIS celebrated his victory, and his intention to make race-specific laws segregates our country back to the likes of the Civil Rights Movement in combination with his hate filled rhetoric which fuels the terrorist organization with new recruits who think they are being targeted.

On the other hand, I’ve had the pleasure of talking to others who carry opinions different from mine and present them in an understandable manner with solid reasoning. They are backed by facts, and although they differ from my opinion that is also backed by facts, it is respectable. Even when I am unfamiliar with a topic or lose a discussion, I ask to be educated and do my own research afterward. This is a learning process, not a war to divide us. Have respect and modesty. Accept facts and move forward. Speak your mind, but don’t charge at a bull with horns without horns of your own. This past year and a half or so has taught me much, and I still have much to learn. If there is one thing I learned best though is that people are vicious in their desire to win, whether it means embarrassing themselves, attacking people personally, or latching onto any weak rhetoric or argument that inches them closer to a nonexistent victory. Don’t be that person, and if you are, change. Let’s learn together and always move forward.