This past summer, I was excited to see some of my old friends from high school. I looked forward to sharing our experiences, seeing how we had all grown in different ways in the past year. I eagerly reached out and expected a quick response.

I was quite surprised to find that this wasn't the case.

Instead of the amiable, enthusiastic answers I anticipated, I was met with coldness. Unanswered texts. Unfollowed on Twitter. Ended friendships. I was confused. Had I done something wrong? Caused offense in some way?

Eventually, I discovered my unforgivable sin. I had liked one of Ben Shapiro's tweets. Yes, this was my grave mistake, the point of no return. I could never have known the consequences of pressing that little red heart as I laughed a bit and continued scrolling.

I was canceled.

In 2019, the age of peak wokeness, "cancel culture" is all the rage. Celebrities, restaurants, businesses, and ordinary people like me constantly run the risk of being "canceled" by woke leftists for holding opposing views. A chicken sandwich can't just be a chicken sandwich. There must be some deeper, malignant, and entirely partisan meaning. Everything has moral value, and anything with even a whiff of conservatism is pure evil.

Demi Lovato was recently condemned by the woke leftists of Twitter for speaking of her spiritual trip to Israel. Lovato made a post to Instagram detailing her trip, describing it as "filling the God-sized hole in her heart." Naturally, she was immediately attacked for such hateful rhetoric. She swiftly (and unnecessarily) apologized. Lovato explicitly stated that her trip was a spiritual experience and not a political statement.

In woke leftist world, however, everything is political. Anyone and everyone is not only qualified but expected to comment on political issues. Celebrities are the crusaders of cancel culture. They advocate leftist notions of socialism and open borders while safely seated behind the walls and fences of their billion-dollar mansions. To be conservative in Hollywood is to risk losing your status, job, and opportunities. Being canceled is a big deal.

Cancel culture doesn't just threaten friendships or jobs. It threatens the existence of a free, democratic society. If anyone with a slightly differing view is "canceled" by the left, there is no diversity of thought. Intellectual debates cease to exist. One narrative is taught as truth when in reality it is the culmination of opinions (often extreme) and hatred of the opposing side.

The left blames conservatives for the polarization of the country. Canceling anyone and anything with a slightly opposing view seems pretty polarizing to me.

Instead of cancel culture, we should be working towards a debate culture. Free and open exchange of intellectual ideas, as opposed to hostile and insulting shouting matches. Professors should encourage open, civil debate, and refrain from allowing their personal beliefs to taint the material of the course.

I have never lived in a world where two people of differing political views could have a civil conversation and walk away as friends, but I've heard it existed once. That sounds like a pretty nice world to live in.