Often times when I scroll through Facebook, I'll see photos of my friends from the weekend, engagement announcements, and an occasional controversial article with multiple shares and debates taking place within the comments. With the 2016 election just a year away, a majority of these articles have a political focus causing debates to become more heated than usual. Personally, I believe that our right to have our own opinion on topics is an amazing one, however, just because someone is on the opposite end of the political spectrum of you does NOT create grounds for them to be ridiculed or disrespected.

Often times, I see posts in the nature of "Republicans are stupid," and "Why are Democrats so dumb?" Does someone's difference in how to take care of economical issues in our country really constitute such an insult? Absolutely not. Someone's opinion isn't wrong because it's not the same as yours, it just becomes another opinion.

One large issue to note about this is that this is NOT solely a problem of my generation, it's a problem for everyone. To be honest, I see adults commenting back in forth to each other bashing one another's opinions more often than I see my own peers engaging in such disrespectful manners. Occasionally, I see adults and children disrespecting each other's view points. Is it really appropriate for someone my parent's age to be disregarding the views of a college aged student, or vice versa? The younger generation should respect the knowledge their elders, which they gained from experience, while parents should be proud and respectful of the younger crowd for having formed such educated opinions. It is important to note here the difference between "fact" and "opinion," as it would be appropriate to respectfully correct somebody on an incorrect percentage or true, undeniable fact that they misstated and are using as a supporting factor in their opinion.

There is a huge difference between an "argument" and a "fight." In a fight, the opposing sides are attacking each other nonsensically, refusing to listen to the opponent's opinions. However, in an "argument," both sides are stating their opinions, backing these opinions up with facts, and listening to the other side respectfully. Using phrases such as "That's actually a great point! However, I believe..." Or even "I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure where you are coming from. Would you mind elaborating and explaining more?" help foster a friendly environment to share opinions.

As tensions heat up the closer it gets to this major election, I ask you to please be respectful of the opinions of others with both your verbal words and your social media posts. Remember that at the end of the day, we all want the best America possible and we just share different opinions on what that exactly is and how to get there. I am not asking you to silence yourself by any means, I'm asking you to think before you post or act. Put yourself on the other side. If you are a conservative, and someone posts an article with the caption "Damn conservatives, all they do is mess up our country," how would you feel? If the answer is enraged, hurt, or disrespected, you probably shouldn't make that post using the word "liberals."

If you see a post or comment that disrespects your views, I challenge you not to disrespect them back and to instead show them respect. Be the bigger person and start really making this country a better place. Also, expand this lesson beyond social media and into your personal conversations.

So please, let's stop bullying each other and start having mature, respectful debates with one another instead. Who knows, maybe you might learn something?