I’ve never been one to seek out discussion of political views unless I'm with people I know agree with me, and that's mostly out of respect for the views of others. Even when I have found myself in conversations where I am talking to someone who is arguing for an opposing view of mine, I respect and stand up for the right of people to form and have their own opinions.

Something I feel I have encountered more and more since coming to college is a lack of that first part –forming opinions– behind many opinions I encounter, mainly in the case of politics.

It’s important to respect someone who is able to admit when they don’t know enough about something to have any real thoughts about it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of; it simply means that someone is acknowledging an area for growth, whether they act on it or not. You could just as easily regurgitate snippets of what you have heard from others on the news, on social media, or even at your own dinner table- and that is what we see far too often.

When talking to others about my political views, I generally avoid conversations where the goal is to persuade, because I believe the values that make a person conservative or liberal are too fundamental to change.

For example, if someone truly believes abortion is murder, then no amount of protests or articles full of scientific ideas are going to make them believe it isn’t. The most productive conversations when discussing opposing left or right political views are the ones where someone can learn from the other –which means that if you’re going to voice an opinion and have no knowledge about the topic to back it up– you’re headed right for an argument you probably shouldn’t be having.

It is not enough to have heard your parent’s viewpoints on something and simply adapt them as your own. It is not enough to read one biased article from an author who only wants to show you one side of the picture on a specific topic. It is not enough to go through your Facebook or Twitter or Instagram feeds and read only the shared post and statuses or retweeted videos of people that have grown up in similar ideals and places as you.

You owe it to yourself to make sure you consider all parts of an argument before you start claiming a political party or claiming that you support one candidate over another.

There isn’t anything easy about it either; and it shouldn’t be, ESPECIALLY when making opinions on those viewpoints that divide people by the left and right. Those opinions have bearing on legislation and public policy which means they affect everyone.

They guide you in deciding who you’re going to vote for and what you’re going to stand up for, so how could you possibly make decisions like that without knowing what you’re talking about and why you feel that way?