The year is 2016. Most Americans have knowledge at their very fingertips. We have the ability to Google anything we want. We have scientific fact to back up theories and claims we've been making for years. So why do we still say ignorant and untrue things? Yes, of course, we're entitled to our opinions, but why would you have an opinion about something that is totally opposite from the truth? We've come to admire people who speak their minds with no valid facts backing up their statements, and we tend not to listen to the people who speak their minds and have facts backing up their claims.

First things first, the beloved Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin said on April 15, 2016, that she is "just as much of a scientist as Bill Nye." Now, we all know Sarah Palin is popular for saying outrageous things. The motive behind her saying these things is still unclear. We don't know if she truly believes what she says, or if she says what she says to get national attention. Regardless, there are many people who support her and love her. So, what's wrong with what she said about Bill Nye? Well, Bill Nye received a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Cornell University, a renowned Ivy League school. He worked with Carl Sagan and worked on Boeing airplanes before he was famous for hosting the science program we've all come to know and love: "Bill Nye the Science Guy." Palin, on the other hand, bounced around from university to university, trying to find her niche- nothing wrong with that. She eventually graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree in communications. So, how is she just as much of a scientist as Bill Nye? The context of her statement was in regards to global warming, saying that Bill Nye is teaching our children wrong things about climate change. She believes that children should learn to doubt what scientists say, and she referred to Nye as just a kids show host.

Ludicrous statements by celebrities, politicians, and other public figures have become trendy. Perhaps we notice these outlandish statements more because, within the last twenty years or so, the general population has become more socially aware, but there are still people who stick by their unpopular opinions and feel that there is no harm done by maintaining them. There are a few things I can think of that need to be detested, talked about, and fixed.

1. We need to accept that climate change is real.

I'm not sure why this is still so heavily disputed when there is so much scientific evidence backing it up. If we are burning fossil fuels at an accelerated rate, which we are, then there is going to be an impact on the air we breathe, right? You'll hear people in the winter during a snowstorm say "where is that global warming we keep hearing about, I'm freezing!" Well, no offense to you, but that is an effect of climate change. Global warming causes harsh winters and hot summers. But it's easier to live in a world where your selfish needs are met before the Earth's needs are met. It's easier to "drill, baby, drill" than it is to switch over to a hybrid or electric car than to buy solar panels, and than it is to take the time to sort your recyclables. Bill Nye is not trying to brainwash our kids to believe the "liberal media and its lies." He's simply trying to educate our children- and adults- about the effects of CO2 emissions and littering. I see absolutely nothing wrong about that.

2. We need to stop believing that socialism is communism.

As a political science major who has taken classes on political theory, comparative politics, history of politics, and international law, I can decisively say that socialism and communism are not one and the same. You might have heard your racist uncle say something along the lines of "Bernie Sanders is a communist. Let's not forget that communists killed millions of people within the last 100 years." It's one thing to not like Senator Sanders, who may very well win the democratic nomination for this years election, but to say he's a communist is ignorance at its finest.

First of all, communism is a political system where one political party rules everything and is often a dictatorship, all wealth is shared, equal pay for non-equal jobs is distributed, and oppressive and secularist ideals are practiced. I may not #FeelTheBern just yet, but I will defend the presidential hopeful here. If you really think Bernie will be an oppressive leader because he has democratic socialist views (which many past presidents had [FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, Nixon's negative income tax proposal, Obama's Affordable Care Act, etc.]) then you're misinformed and need to tune into a different channel other than Fox News. Sanders himself, and his potential White House staff will not be implementing the Communist ideology. He has never said, nor implied, that everyone should be making the same amount of money; he has never said that there should be one political party in power; he has never said he wanted to persecute people for what they believe in or what they want to say. No one will be killing anyone. Sanders believes in a general sense of equality, not the communist version of equality.

3. We need to stop believing that vaccines cause autism.

If you don't vaccinate your children because of the fear of neurological disorders, autism, or other diseases: a) You're being selfish. A vast majority of people get their kids vaccinated and don't face repercussions, whereas their babies, who haven't received vaccines yet, are at risk due to the recklessness of anti-vaccers and b) you're ignorant and not looking at the facts. If vaccines caused autism or other diseases, then there would be more children with autism. Of course, we've seen the number of children with autism rise within the last forty years. However, it's correlation, not causation. Autism used to be a mystery to psychologists and doctors everywhere, so of course not many people were diagnosed with it. Also, explain why children are born with autism and haven't received any vaccinations yet. If you do not vaccinate your kids, you are putting another child into harm's way. Take your fear of these diseases and imagine these parents whose children actually do get measles, mumps, or rubella and try to understand their pain and frustration.

4. We need to stop thinking trans people are going to harm our children.

We've heard of the 'bathroom bill' that states like North Carolina have passed over the last couple of months. These types of bills are harmful and discriminatory. The logic behind these absurd bills is "well, trans people should use the bathroom of the sex they were given at birth. They could be rapists or try to sway our children to think like them. If you have a penis, use the men's bathroom. If you have a vagina, use the women's bathroom." It's not as simple as that. Many trans people don't ever get a gender reassignment surgery, but you would never know that just by looking at them. If a trans man (a person born a female but identifies as being a man) who looks extremely masculine, has a beard, a typical male body type, went to use the women's restroom just because he still has a vagina, I think we can all agree that that would cause even more issues than him using the men's restroom. Every woman in that women's bathroom would say "why is there a man in this bathroom."

Additionally, being transgender doesn't automatically make you one sexuality over another. So, for those worrying about rapist trans people, you should worry about rapists in general because anyone can walk into any bathroom and try to sexually assault you. A trans woman who is attracted to men is not going to try to sexually assault your daughter in a public restroom. We use restrooms for five minutes, what is the big deal? Europeans have unisex bathrooms and they haven't tried to go back on it. These "bathroom bills" also make it legal for certain businesses and companies to fire or deny service to any of the LGBTAQ+ community based on "religious freedom." Where does it end?

5. We need to start believing that sexuality is fluid, but that doesn't mean we get to choose who we are in love/attracted to.

Fluid sexuality is a debate between the very religious and the socially aware. Being sexually fluid does not mean "oh well, if you're a girl and you like a girl, you can stop and you can like a guy." It means that you can fall in love with someone regardless of their gender, but falling in love itself isn't really easy. Religious people across all religions feel that the act of homosexuality is a sin. So, that means that people can choose to not act on those attractions and urges and just simply live life with the opposite sex like they're meant to. But that's not really right. As a lesbian, I would not be very happy giving up my love for my girlfriend to go live with some man just so I can raise children the old fashioned way. Isn't my happiness more important than some arbitrary religious tradition? Gay people can have biological children. It may not be as easy as having kids the way straight people do, but it is possible. Very religious people feel as though having a biological family is the most important thing and that's why gay people shouldn't get married or adopt kids. What about heterosexual couples who are infertile and can't have children biologically? They can't have that traditional family we all so desperately need. If my girlfriend and I are happily in love, neither one of us is going to give that up just so we can see if we can potentially fall in love with a man and live a simplistic, heteronormative lifestyle that doesn't necessarily make us happy.

6. We need to stop asking gay couples who the "man" and "woman" are in relationships.

This is a rogue point, but I get these questions on a weekly basis since I'm in a relationship with a girl. I will never be rude to someone who asks and I will always answer the question with dignity and respect for the lack of knowledge people have. But I'm getting sick of it. Really, what constitutes a "man's job" or a "woman's job" in a relationship? Gender roles are arbitrary, what do you think a man or a woman does in a relationship? Is it based on sex (who is on top, who is on bottom)? Is it based on salary/income? Is it based on acts of kindness or chivalry? Is it based on who drives more than the other? I don't understand what makes a man in a relationship or what makes a woman in a relationship. I guess I can understand if people come from traditional households where the women cooked, cleaned, took care of babies, and let their husbands "run the household." I don't understand why people who come from mixed-tradition households ask this question. My girlfriend and I are both the women in the relationship. We are equals. We take turns paying for each other's meals, we hold the door open for each other, we make decisions together. Sure, I drive more and she cooks more, she's pretty feminine and I'm a bit more masculine, but does that really make me the "man" of the relationship? We're both women!

7. We need to reshape how people view feminism.

A common misconception about feminism is that it is meant to put down men, or make women stronger, or that the movement isn't real. Feminism is a way to bring awareness to issues regarding gender and to fix those issues. Without feminism, women would have never been able to achieve voter status. Without feminism, women would have never been allowed to do jobs that were seen as too dangerous or too masculine for women to perform. Some people agree that feminism is solely about women, and if it were really about making men and women equal, then they'd talk about men's issues as well. That's an interesting perception. When I think of feminism, I think of the word "feminine" and how that word is associated with other negative words. I think about young boys who aren't extremely masculine and get made fun of for it; I think about young boys who are called "pussies" or are told that they do things like a girl. Feminism is about erasing that negative connotation of being feminine, and expressing concern for people who rely so heavily on gender roles that, when people are a little different, they're ridiculed. Feminism is about showing that men and women are and always have been equal, even if we are not treated as such. People who believe that feminism is bad and meant to oppress men, please think again. What you might be seeing is misandry and that is not the same as feminism.

8. We need to stop associating Islam with terrorism.

Islam is a religion. The Quran is one of the most peaceful collections of stories and is very similar to the New Testament. Most Muslims in Iraq and Syria see ISIS unfavorably and wish to eradicate it. ISIS does not reflect the true meaning of Islam and is only used to justify awful acts of violence. Therefore, Islam and terrorism are not the same. 40 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a Muslim presidential candidate, which is telling. Many Americans also feel that Muslims do not represent our country's values. Why? Every true "Islamic State" across the world is different from one another, and not all of them are proclaimed theocracies, and instead just have a majority Muslim population. An individual's religion should not reflect their American values. Values are not contingent on religion. An atheist, a Jew, a Christian, and a Muslim may all have different religious beliefs, but it's not unusual for them to share the same values. In fact, many people within the same sects of religion may have different values from one another. For example, I know Catholics who are pro-gay marriage and I know Catholics who are anti-gay marriage. So why do we associate terrorism with Islam? Ethnocentric views are to blame. We may never see ourselves as terrorists, even if we cause terror. "Terrorists" to a lot of Americans will always be the people who did 9/11. Author Gerald Seymour's statement "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" is a cliche in International Law, but it allows perspective on the motives behind terrorism. In the spirit of fairness, if you want to use surveillance to watch Muslims so that they're not ISIS, you need to use surveillance on Christians in this country as well because there have been many instances of terrorism done by white men that do not get the same type of hysteria caused by "Islamic" terrorism. Oh, and by the way, Barack Obama is not a Muslim. Stop saying he is. And even if he was, it shouldn't matter. He's been in office for eight years and hasn't killed us all, so I think we're safe.

This list of things I find ignorant may not sound ignorant to you. I believe that these things cause rifts and tension between many Americans and their political and social values. There are hate and violence because of a difference in beliefs. You can be a Republican, believe in a small federal government and state power, and still believe that climate change is real, that Muslims should not be under surveillance, that trans people deserve the same rights as all of us, that black lives do indeed matter. Political platforms change over time and you shouldn't pigeonhole your beliefs onto a particular platform. Expand your mind. Talk to people who are different than you and listen to what they have to say. If someone's sole purpose of believing something is their religion and they don't look at facts or science, that's their issue. Don't discriminate against them. Do your best to inform them and if they continue to remain in the darkness, let them stay there. Just as long as they don't hurt anybody.