The continual politicization of literally everything is something that has become increasingly annoying to me, as well as most other level-headed Americans. You see, for most of us, all we want to do is get through the day, spend time with our friends and loved ones and exercise our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

All of that has changed, however, with the recent influx of individuals that coalesce their political ideology with their personal identity. I'm unsure as to when this occurrence began, but it is absolutely something that has been seeping its toxicity into every possible aspect of American life.

Ben Shapiro, founder and editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire–and "Provocative Gladiator", as dubbed by the New York Times–has spoken on this topic at great length, leading to a fantastic discussion with Joe Rogan on his podcast, the "Joe Rogan Experience."

Ben summarized his point rather succinctly and humorously by saying that, "They conflate their viewpoint with their identity, and then if you have a differing viewpoint then you are 'denying them their humanity.' No, I'm not denying you your humanity, I just think what you said is dumb."

This, I believe, is the epicenter of the cultural warfare that each and every one of us steps into each and every day. It's dangerous business walking out of your front door when there's a landmine waiting to detonate around every corner.

These landmines are individuals who, presumably, have never been taught how to handle criticism or any sort of worldview that differs from their own. They are individuals who somehow find a way to appropriate dissenting beliefs into a personal attack.

If my presumption rings true then it's no surprise that when a university invites guest speakers, especially those with conservative or libertarian views, they are met with students protesting with signs purporting the notion that, "words are violence."

That phrase seems like a whimsical juxtaposition, until their unwavering indignation reveals the seriousness of their assertion. So let's get a better understanding of what violence actually is: according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, violence is, "Behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something."

Of course, I'm not sure if the individuals that parade around equating speech with a physical act of violence are utilizing the actual definition of violence in doing so. But it makes sense that someone would extrapolate words as being synonymous with a violent offense when they view words that challenge their belief system as being synonymous with undercutting who they are as a human being.

There is an inherent peril in the spurious claim that words are violence, because it allows those who surmise that to be true to respond to someone's words with actual, physical violence, since there is no dichotomy between the two.

Coupling that with the premise that someone may have their entire humanity tied up into their political ideology, then the picture starts to become clearer: if words are violence and disagreeing with someone's views is conflated with denying them their humanity, then that leaves room for the possibility of having differing political beliefs with someone being likened to violently stripping them of their value as a person.

Your political ideology is not your identity. Your identity doesn't come from the group that you associate with, your identity comes from who you are as an individual. And an individual must learn to accept both criticism and worldviews that differ from their own, without thinking that they are personally undermining them.

In the ever-encouraging words of Ben Shapiro, "Nobody, by and large, cares enough about you to stop you from achieving your dreams."