Throughout the past couple of weeks, many Americans have been showing their true colors on social media, especially on Facebook (a huge factor in the latest election predictions).

A flurry of articles has come out in recent months, all discussing the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of non-factual and untrue news media that gets spread through Facebook like wildfire, due to the fact that people will share stories that appeal to what it is they want to hear.

But, while a large percentage of the “news” that was shared throughout the most recent election was completely false, many of these reports were simply biased and opinion based as well. It was through my Facebook friends sharing other people’s thoughts, opinions, worries, etc. that I got to understand my friends who were sharing those reflections just as well...

And much of it was not pleasant.

This election has resulted in a country that appears more divided than it has in decades. Many people have dissolved friendships over this election and even marriages were shaken by the polarizing candidates, but in the heat of the election results, I am not someone who is looking to disown all of my friends and family members who voted for our president-elect.

Yet, in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential race, one emotion that has overwhelmed me is confusion.

I have felt confused on how to react and what to think, confused on how to interpret the results, confused on how to console my friends who are heartbroken/fearful for their future, confused on how to talk cordially with my loved ones who supported Trump…

But, mainly I have just felt confused on why some people love to hate others.

While the majority of people I know who voted for Donald Trump claim they voted for him because of his policy positions (even though he rarely kept any consistent stances during his campaign), there still exists groups of people within the United States who voted for him simply because they want to see minority groups disenfranchised, they think a man should remain in the oval office, or even because they desire white supremacy.

But, it is seeing the people I know personally sharing unjust reports that has distressed me the most, and when I read an article one of my previous high school teachers had shared on her Facebook page, it elicited one of the strongest reactions out of me.

The article detailed the famous story from 2015, where Aaron and Melissa Klein, a couple from Oregon who owned the bakery Sweet Cakes, were sued for discriminating against a lesbian couple who wanted to purchase a wedding cake.

On this website, the author biasedly describes how the latest congressional election would provide justice for this Oregon couple, due to the fact that Brad Avakian, the Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, who had fined the couple for their actions, had not won a seat in the Senate because he had ignored “constitutional rights.”

As I read this article, I became more and more disheartened by what my teacher was expressing to me by sharing this. The woman who shared the article had been someone who I admired and respected during my high school years. She was a kind and hilarious person who taught me the subject material well, and who seemed to genuinely care for my well-being during my time in her classroom.

But, by sharing this story (an article starting with “AMEN!” in the title, just to show how reliable of a source it is) she was demonstrating to me, and every single other Facebook friend of hers, that she agreed with this journalist. She agreed that the couple should not have been fined, even though they clearly broke their state’s anti-discrimination laws. She agreed that the lesbian couple should have been denied the wedding cake, even though they had been loyal customers to the bakery for many years.

Now, you may be saying “she is allowed to hold those religious beliefs!” And yes, the wonderful part of this nation is that you can be a part of whichever religion you chose and hold the values that the religion stands for.

However, although freedom of religion is promised to us in the First Amendment of the Constitution, there is also this thing called “separation of church and state.”

The entire purpose behind the First Amendment was to “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Thus, we are allowed to practice our religion however we please. If some churches want to hold sermons without anyone from the LGBTQ+ community present, fine. However, when we get to the business aspect of it, that is not the same. That is where the separation of church and state comes in.

If private business owners deny service to someone who is gay, they are simply discriminating against them. We cannot infringe on other people’s rights to please our religious demands, and if we passed laws that allowed this to happen, then we would be “respecting an establishment of religion.”

If my high school teacher had denied to teach me because I am a gay man and she felt that it went against her religious beliefs to impose knowledge upon a young “sinner,” then she would have lost her job. Even though the couple could say that baking the cake was showing an approval of a marriage they do not condone, which is what goes against their religious beliefs, that is not where the line is drawn.

Many states nowadays are trying to pass laws where homosexuals can be denied service merely if the business owners assume they are gay, and it goes beyond ceremonies involving the church. Citizens want to deny jobs, housing, and even medical services to the LGBTQ+ community, all because they believe it goes against their religion.

But, I guess what confuses me the most is what the motivation is for all of these people. One of the things that I never understood growing up in this world is why certain people, especially certain Christians, have the urge to discriminate against others just because they have the power to do it.

I grew up in a Christian household, where both of my parents raised me and my brothers as Methodists, and we went to church almost every Sunday. My brothers were both acolytes, my oldest brother was an Eagle Scout, everyone of my family members was baptized, and we celebrated all of the religious holidays every year. In high school, I was even a part of the Young Life organization, a Christian youth group that met outside of school.

As a child, my mom would have me read certain passages out of the Bible, and she would teach me different lessons. I went to Vacation Bible School for multiple summers, and as I grew up, my family tried to teach me the values of the church, two of which were love and acceptance.

Yet, with a lot of Christians, love and acceptance do not seem to be values that they hold in high esteem or that they even seem to care about, unless the love they are showing is towards those who are just like them and who share their exact beliefs.

Christians may try to defend the fact that gay marriage goes against their religious beliefs by using select bible verses, such as (Leviticus 18:22), which roughly states that “a man shall not lie with a man as he does with a woman, for it is an abomination.”

However, if Christians were to start following everything that the Old Testament indicates, then they would be denied from doing things such as eating pork (Leviticus 11:7-8), using credit cards (Romans 13:8), wearing makeup (Jeremiah 4:30), or even wearing articles of clothing that were made from different materials (Deuteronomy 22:11).

Still, loads of Christians do all of those things, because they know that every little thing stated in the Old Testament does not ring true to this day, and as (Hebrews 8:13) says: “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

So, if we cannot live by the Old Testament word for word, and if God is the ultimate judge of this Earth, then what is the point of trying to deny service to gay people?

Well, it was the same ploy used back in the 1960s, to try to deny service to African Americans. Since the Bible (just like the Constitution) is an extremely ancient piece of writing, it is very difficult to interpret and apply it in our modern society.

Therefore, Christians who wish to use the Bible as an excuse to discriminate against people of color, women, the LGBTQ+ community, or people who prescribe to other religions, basically have the power to do so if they can find the correct wording.

The thing is that they do not need to, and that is what I will truly never understand. I have met so many wonderful Christian people in my life, including family members, good friends, and even outsiders. When I came out to my family, every single one of my extended family members, including those who were strong believers in the Christian faith, showed their love and support of everything about me. When I was a part of the Young Life youth group, all of my team leaders and the students in the organization provided me with care and solace.

So, what is the need for all of this hatred and discrimination? Why do certain people feel the inner compulsion to try to tear down those around them who differ from them in small ways, and why do they have to use religion as their weapon? Maybe it was the way they were raised, maybe it was what they were taught, or maybe we all have an innate discriminatory component inside of us that only some humans are able to fight off early on in their life if they get to it in time.

All I know is that it seems highly unnecessary to me. How will we ever progress as a society if we do not learn to accept all people and treat them as our equals? If the Christian faith is truly about showing love to everyone, then we better start working on it now.

While many Christians are not the problem in this nation right now, a good portion of them is, including our Catholic vice-presidential elect, Mike Pence. So, if the Christians who are not racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc. want to prove that their religion does not stand for these intolerant actions, then they need to start preaching to those who are giving their religion a bad name.

I am not saying it is solely Christians either. There are plenty of people who might belong to a different religious body, or who do not consider themselves religious at all, who might be using the same hateful rhetoric towards those they do not like for illegitimate reasons.

Nevertheless, whatever religion you might be a part of, we need to come together as a nation, and stop spreading things that could potentially tear us apart from the seams. That means stop sharing articles that have no basis or substance to them and start actually looking for facts. Also, feel free to share your opinions, but never forget those who might be seeing them and those who might be affected by the words you are promoting.

Finally, all I have to say is if you love and respect me as a homosexual man, then you cannot honestly believe that I should be denied the same services as you. If you love and respect all people around you, then you should share the belief that we should all be created equal.

However, if you do believe this, there is no need to worry. Because in the end, I will be able to purchase my wedding cake.