If you didn’t see it: When Roy Moore spoke his opinion on not having any Muslims in office in D.C., many eyebrows were raised. When his spokesman, Ted Crockett, came on CNN and made it clear that he was sworn in three times on a Christian Bible, he believed that was the way it had to be done, and if a Muslim did that, they would be unethical, people were dumbfounded.

Even after Jake Tapper tried to make it clear that you did not have to be sworn in on the Christian Bible, Crockett persisted, saying, “Well, I know Donald Trump did it when we made him President.” The longest moment of silence on national TV was recorded during this interview when Crockett understood that he was wrong. Many media outlets have rushed to make fun of this man. I’m going to give an unbiased evaluation of what really happened, and why it is important.

Crockett is from the Bible Belt. I’m sorry, Ted, because I am, too. Down here, everyone has the Bible, they know the Bible, and they’re all Christians. So, this way of thinking is extremely common. People feel as if Christianity is the only American way, and that is why irrational conversations like this one occur. Ted Crockett did not know anything different than what he was saying. Don’t blame him. Blame the education system or society as a whole, but not him. It wasn’t his fault.

He was “given” the Bible to be sworn in on because that is a, for lack of a better word, default. However, if someone is Muslim, or Hindu, or just a non-believer, should we expect them to swear in on a Bible? That would mean nothing to them, and be offensive to Christians.

We, as a country with freedom of religion, must allow anyone, of any religion, in any setting, to do whatever it is that their beliefs encourage them to do. Everyone must realize that this country was founded on religious freedom, not Christianity paired with religious intolerance. I’m not saying that you must give up your churches and worship in mosques or throw away your Bibles and buy a Torah. You should revel in the fact that your religion can be practiced here (or you can choose to not practice a religion at all) without someone killing you for it. At the same time, other people should be treated the same way as you.

We should educate our children about other religions at home. We should make them understand that these people aren’t scary or crazy or evil and that they just have different opinions. When you allow yourself and your children to become blind to cultural differences, you’re becoming blind to the world and losing touch. You should stay alert and involved. If you’re devout to your religion, that is great, and no one will try to take it from you. You should also allow yourself to get involved with other religious organizations, peacefully. By getting involved, I mean understanding what they are, and maybe even lending a helping hand to them.

Understand that Muslims are not terrorists, and Jews are not all money hungry. Understand that each religion has plenty of people just like you that are following it, and they deserve (and are entitled to) the same rights, liberties, and freedoms as you are.

Realize that these people are your equals because we’re all fighting for good to prevail over evil. They aren’t your enemies at all. I think we’ve gotten lost, and so many people believe that entire religious movements should hate each other. We shouldn’t. We should all enjoy the fact that this country allows us to follow whatever divine force we like, or none at all. We should all get along and coexist to make sure that this country remains in existence.