We live in a time where, thanks to both an unprecedented ability to stay informed and a population who is more interested in hearing about current events, politics is a contentious issue. As finals end, many will return home to families whose political views vary greatly from their own- myself included.

So now, I want to take a moment to address this directly. Namely, accusations from my own family members that I’m nothing more than an entitled, indoctrinated, millennial, snowflake liberal who is exclusively enamored with the Democratic Party.

Here is my response: No.

Well except for the snowflake part, but it’s not my fault my middle name is snow.

I won’t deny that I lean “liberal” on many issues, but this label for my actual political views is incorrect, and I am flabbergasted that members of my own family feel justified in forcing an arbitrary label upon me along with a host of preconceived expectations and stereotypes revolving around that label. What utility does that produce?

Just one: An excuse to ignore complexity.

It means they get to think they know what I think and believe ahead of time. It means they can attach other labels, providing an excuse to dismiss my actual thoughts as nothing more than thoughts that have been supplied by professors and liberal media.

Except that’s not at all how I’ve arrived at my current political beliefs, and those beliefs don’t fit this comfortable mold that others might attempt to construct around me.

I have disagreed with much of what I’ve heard spouted around family dinner tables for a long time- if for other reason than because these things I heard were said in anger. Given the events I heard of and people I dealt with growing up, I possessed an inherent aversion to anger- especially after high school, where there was many a time when I let my anger get the best of me.

So I don’t understand the idea of injecting raw anger and hatred in political views, especially without an actual, solid reason.

Nor did I get my views from my professors (except for the one with a STEM degree from freshman year who ensured I understood the difference between sex and gender, though that shouldn’t really be considered a political view, just a realistic one).

If anything, most of my current views resulted from meeting people and rejecting out of a personal thought that which I was taught. For example, when I was with the LDS church, I found the requirement of not having sex before marriage particularly ridiculous. What impact could that possibly have on my moral character as a whole? I didn’t know.

Even before that, I barely understood my Lutheran upbringing either. All I knew was that I had this Children’s Bible, I read it, and there were many interesting stories that taught valuable lessons. For the most part, that’s all they were to me. Sure, I believed in God and the Christ, but, really, I just tried to take lessons about how to be a good person. But it was by no means my only source- books, television, games; all of these helped me learn what it means to be a good person.

One particular area my family rejects my views in concerns those who are LGTBQIA+. Hell, I know I’ve even had at least one family member ask my mother if I was… hiding something because I’m adamant in my at least mutual support of LGBTQIA+ rights.

But I didn’t learn this from professors either. All my professors taught was how to think, but never what to think. So where does my support for these rights come from?

Meeting people, of course! How could I possibly foster any sort of animosity when some of the most amazing people I’ve ever known- people who have helped me and challenged me- are LGTBQIA+? It would make no sense to turn to one of these people with a friendly smile, and in the next breath denounce them as heathens who don’t deserve to be respected and treated as humans.

Fostering hate or political or social disdain for people LGTBQIA+ would violate the most core and most important message I received from the Children’s Bible- kindness!

Finally, I’m also not a pro-socialism, democratic loving liberal. According to available information, I’m not liberal- I’m a left libertarian. I believe in human rights and low amounts of government control, but I also desire an economy that works for as many people as possible. And I’m not even registered as a Democrat voter. I’m not registered under any party!

So no, I’m not a token indoctrinated liberal. I’m me. Take it or leave it.