Today's media makes it easier than ever before to jump on the proverbial bandwagon for any cause or stance. With any and all news constantly at our fingertips, it can be difficult to decide what is true and what is false. As a result, figuring out our own personal beliefs becomes a mess as we wade through real versus fake news, hostile "discussions", and rhetoric that is literally meant to persuade us one way or another.

It is very important in today's current social and political climate to be well informed, in order to make an accurate judgment of what is happening. However, doing so is incredibly difficult. There are so many factors to consider when deciding where you stand: the views of those around you, what sources you are drawing from, and whether or not any of this information is reliable.

The point of media rhetoric is to persuade. Therefore, we cannot be sure of the unbiased truth. It is up to us to decide for ourselves, and this can only be done with an active and open mind. Despite the difficulty of this task, it is vital to being a functioning participant in society. Blindly following something does not count.

We cannot afford for people to blindly follow a cause or a party. Those who are uneducated about what they stand behind ultimately end up causing more problems. This leads to more conflict than already exists because those fighting ultimately call upon negative actions, rather than fact or reason to defend their cause.

When people result to hurt and violence, nothing is achieved, and it only furthers the divide. Although this may seem like being an active participant, blind following is not an act of patriotism, but an act of laziness that only adds to the already heated and toxic dialogues.

It is an unfortunate truth of today that we cannot believe everything we hear. However, we shouldn't want to. We should be out in the world, researching and collecting knowledge about who we are and where we live. A big reason that we have so much political and social strife is because people refuse to take the time to see things from all perspectives.

Nothing can be achieved when we wallow in our self-indulgence, and refusing to acknowledge the existence and passion of the people on the other side is self-indulgence. When we finally realize that we cannot make this world better just based on what we want and believe, we will be able to achieve something.

We cannot afford to sit idly by on whatever side of the cause we want. We would not be citizens, but squatters. In the words of writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "The notion of looking on at life has always been hateful to me. What am I if I am not a participant? In order to be, I must participate".

In order to be, we must participate.