On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem as a way to protest. In November, the United States will be voting for its 45th president. Brock Turner was released from prison after three months.
We all have opinions -- even if people don't say that they have one. There's always a slight bias.
So many things have happened in 2016 that it's hard to keep track of it all. Throughout all of this, though, one thing is easy to keep track of: the opinions of the general public. With varying opinions, the public sways wildly from one side to the next, and it's obvious that people don't agree on the same thing.
For example, let's look at Colin Kaepernick's protest. While some people feel that what Kaepernick did was disrespectful, others felt that he was well within his rights. According to Cornell University Law School's section on the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Even if Kaepernick's actions didn't rub anyone the right way, we should all remember that it's his right and our opinions have no sway on his decisions. If anything, we should at least respect his feelings.
Another example would be public opinions on Brock Turner's sentence. Many agree that he should have had a longer sentence, while some people think that his sentence was long enough. I respect their opinions, even if I don't agree. At the very least, I either ignore their reasons as to why they disagree or try to educate them on why he should be held accountable. I don't have to like their opinions, just like I don't have to be friends with them.
Sometimes, it's hard to accept that someone doesn't have the same opinions; as someone who is friends with both Republicans and Democrats, I see both sides and hear their opinions. While one person may think that the federal government should change the way that taxes are handled, someone else may have an entirely different opinion.
Now, as a national day of remembrance happens -- a day that I honestly cannot remember -- we should always remember that our opinions differ on different issues. We don't always agree on the same thing, and that's okay. In an ideal world, everyone gets along no matter what their opinions are.
Plenty of things are guaranteed to happen this year, things that can cause us to come together or separate again. Let's not compare issues that are not associated with each other. Let's not tell people to forget their histories and what they lost while celebrating and remembering another.
