The world is not black and white like most people like to believe it is. It's a scary thought, but answers to complicated questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. The biggest issue with the way Americans discuss what they believe in is the common notion that if you don't agree with everything that one person believes in, you must be against them. All human beings have their own opinions, one opinion is not more important than the other, and we cannot keep arguing with each other as if yelling and belittling each other is going to solve all of our problems.

The truth is that the minute a movement decides to fall into the black and white view of the world is the minute that the movement will go nowhere fast. Think about it. With all of our protests and Facebook rants about the hottest topics in American politics, how much progress has really been made?

A statement commonly made is that if you are "pro-life" you are "anti-women's rights." Does anyone see the issue with that statement? Gross generalizations such as this are everywhere and do more harm to a movement than anything else. The moment you believe in tidy catchphrases like that is the minute that you have decided to quit discussing the nuances of an issue. Being pro-life does not make you anti-women's rights because there are so many reasons that somebody may be pro-life, and just being pro-life does not make you against having an abortion as a choice.

If you subscribe to a black and white version of the world, then being pro-life means you're "anti-women's rights," being "anti-illegal immigration" means that you're "anti-immigration," and being "Pro-Gun" means that you're going to murder everyone in your local convenient store.

The issues that are plaguing America right now cannot be simplified to one word with "pro" or "anti" attached to the front of it. We have stuck these simple one-word answers to sum up what we believe in when it comes to topics that we are more complicated than any of us would like to admit. In order to progress anywhere in the national discussion about topics like, but not limited to: abortion, immigration, and the second amendment, we need to stop hiding behind labels that make it easier for all of us to stop considering other points of view.

It is so easy in today's world to live in a bubble with people who think like you, that it is easy to forget that there are other opinions out there. You may not agree with what someone has to say entirely, but hear them out!

About a year ago I was in an argument with a friend from my debate group about abortion. When it came to abortion, I was always very quick to respond and quick to shut down anything anyone else said that didn't fit into the way that I saw the issue. I saw the issue as black and white: either you were pro-abortion or you were anti-abortion. It was only once he begged me to just give him two minutes to explain his beliefs that I understood how closed-minded I was for someone who claimed to be "open-minded." Within those two minutes, he explained what he believes, why he believes it, and that being pro-choice does not mean that you are against abortion.

We are so quick to judge and so quick to chose the easy way out of things that we see as difficult. The easy way out of all arguments or discussions is to stop listening, but how can we move forward as a country if we won't even listen to the people within that country?

So, do me a favor the next time someone wants to discuss an issue that you feel strongly about: slow down, be respectful, and listen to what they have to say because they may even change your mind.