I'll just come out and say it from the get-go: I'm a libertarian. A raging and overbearing libertarian. For those who aren't familiar with what Libertarianism is, it can best be summed up as a political ideology where the rights of the individual are prized above all else. This means that most libertarians believe that consenting adults should be allowed to make their own sexual choice, that women should have their reproductive rights protected by the government, and that all people should have the ability to do what they want with their abilities insofar as they do not directly inflict physical harm upon another person.
This also means that most libertarians are not fans of redistributive taxation, are supporters of the precept that people should have control over where their money goes, and are not tolerant of government making individuals pay for things they do not wish to pay for. Many people like to simplify this elaborate political philosophy by categorizing it as a philosophy in which its adherents are generally "socially liberal and fiscally conservative," so if that helps you understand Libertarianism –– by all means.
According to the 2015 Niche list of the Most Liberal Colleges, the University of California, Davis is ranked in the top 100 of the nation's most liberal college campuses. Something that is very convenient about this fact is that there is a lot of political homogeneity on my college campus, which means that people are generally encouraged to express their world views and are happy to share their thoughts about politics, especially during this election season. But what is often overlooked is the fact that there is a substantial population of the student body whose speech is stifled because of this very homogeneity of political thought; people whose opinions fall beyond the mainstream are not heard because contrary opinions are not valued.
If someone were to say that they weren't pro-choice, people would say that they hate women. If someone were to say that they didn't support the welfare state, people would accuse them of hating poor people. If someone were to say that #AllLivesMatter rather than #BlackLivesMatter, people would call them racist and ignorant. A prime example of this type of thinking would be when some pro-Lifers visited the UC Davis Memorial Union at the beginning of the month to protest abortion. These people, many of whom were older men, set up a stand in the middle of the Memorial Union with graphic images of bloody fetuses around them. Many students who passed through the MU on those days would pass by the controversial bunch and mutter things like "Why do men think they can control a woman's body?" or "Pro-Life? More like Anti-Choice!" And it's not to say that these students aren't allowed to have their own opinions, but it is safe to say that there is a lot of misrepresentation going on here.
Perhaps if those people had taken the time to listen to what the pro-Lifers were saying, they would understand that they too are human and want the best for the people around them. Don't get me wrong –– I was totally one of the people who held a sign in front of them that read "If men could get pregnant, they would want the right to choose too," but I did so knowing where they were coming from. By no means did I think they were evil or that they hated women; I simply just disagreed with them because I had a set of values that they probably didn't have.
And it's okay to disagree.
It's better to disagree with somebody and to maintain your views than it is to hold a view that has gone unchallenged. We are so quick to pass value judgments on human beings based on their political preferences (which are formed just as much by upbringing as they are by choice), and yet we flatly condemn people for being racist, sexist, or homophobic. Am I the only one who sees dangerous irony in this? Why is it that people view others who are rude about classic examples of qualities over which we have minimal control with a critical eye, and yet we are so quick to hate somebody for being a greedy Republican or an overly-sensitive Democrat? Rather than spending so much time articulating how uncomfortable we are with a certain political view, let's engage with it and understand why we hold the convictions that we hold. It's the only way we'll be able to learn why other perspectives exist.
Be you conservative, liberal, socialist, or even a libertarian: Take the time during this election season to sit down with people who you vehemently disagree with and to discuss political issues that are important to you. Do not think that you can change their minds, because you probably can't. But do know that you will be able to learn more about yourself, and about an ideology that has been stigmatized in your view. You will be better off for it, even if you leave the conversation flustered.
