It often feels impossible to be able to tell a joke without someone getting offended these days. Many controversial issues are constantly in the spotlight, and they often evoke strong feelings and opinions from people. This is human nature; it’s normal. However, what isn’t normal is the way people are beginning to shame others for having opinions and feelings that are different from theirs. It’s one thing to disagree or even argue with somebody when your views don’t align with his or hers, but it’s another thing when you completely disrespect them by putting them down and trying to minimize their intelligence. This, to me, is opinion shaming, and it needs to stop.

We as Americans have been taught since day one that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This is true. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being an individual who possesses his or her own morals, thoughts, and viewpoints. What would the world be like if everyone's thoughts were uniform? Sure, it may be more cohesive, but would it be unique or diverse?

Picking apart someone’s opinion with the intent to make him or her feel bad, humiliate them on social media, or minimize their intelligence is bullying. Nobody else’s opinions should have the ability to hurt or upset you, because they are simply that: somebody else’s opinions. The cool part about being human is that we all get to have them, and none of them have to be the same.

People look at and value things very differently, because no two people are identical. We all have different life experiences, which play an enormous role in the opinions and morals we have. It seems to me that when someone disagrees with something another person believes, that person’s first instinct is to shove their opinion down the other’s throat instead of trying to understand the other person’s point of view. People hold opinions for a reason, and it would be much more beneficial to try and understand those reasons before bashing that person.

Imagine that you are talking to someone about how much you love dogs. You’ve had a dog your entire life; he guards your house, cuddles with you at night, and puts you in a better mood when you’re having a rough day. Now imagine that the person you are talking to disagrees, and tells you they do not like dogs at all. You may automatically assume that they’re a mean person who doesn’t appreciate animals, and that they’re incompetent for not valuing something that means so much to you. However, you may not know that the person doesn’t like dogs because they were brutally attacked and seriously injured by one. People usually have very good reasons as to why they believe the things they do, and these reasons are crucial to understand before you make a judgment.

I know the dog example may seem trivial, but it’s really not. The same principle applies for even the most controversial of issues: feminism, abortion, gay rights, or politics. The bottom line is that you do not need to bash someone else’s opinion in order to express yours. There is never a good reason to try and humiliate someone, make them feel dumb, or devalue their intelligence in front of others (i.e., on social media). In a country that prides itself on many rights such as freedom of speech, it’s crucial that people feel like they can express themselves without being attacked by someone whose opinion is different from theirs.