Stop Telling People To Shut Up

There have been an excessive amount of tragedies this year. From the Orlando shooting, to the current flood disaster in Louisiana and even the image of the little boy illustrating the destruction that war brings, our world is shaken by disaster day after day. Social media shows these events to everyone, and with that, allows anyone to comment on them.

However, from these horrific comes more discord.

Many individuals decide to comment their opinions. They have every right to, for it is in the first amendment of our constitution. Yet people choose to argue when they see something they disagree with.

Here is an example. On Facebook, I read a post a friend wrote about a video. The video was about a male pastor talking about his views on abortion. This friend disagreed with the pastors stance, for the pastor was pro-life. In their post, the person claimed that the pastor had no right to say what he said because he was not a woman. The gist of this person's post was that the pastor was unqualified to share their thoughts on a sensitive issue.

Another example I have seen of an individual not being "qualified" to state their opinion involved recent police shootings involved with the deaths of black men. Person A commented on Person B's post saying something about how they were not "qualified" to give their thoughts for one particular reason: he was white. Person A was saying that Person B could not attest to what the young black men go through because he was a white man. Ironically, Person A is also white.

These are a few examples of posts I've read on social media about people's thoughts. Opinions are strictly an individual's thoughts on a particular subject. It does not matter what you think at all!

One ironic trend I have noticed is that the people who usually preach about tolerance, religious or not, are the most intolerant when it comes to reading something they disagree with.

As much as we may disagree with what we see and read on our friends and families social media, we must accept that they can say that due to the first amendment. That person talking about how all Muslims are terrorists has the right to say that. The person saying homosexuals should be allowed to be married has the right to say that.

What do I think about this? To start, I say read the opinions you disagree with. Broaden your horizon. This will help you become more well versed in the subject. Furthermore, I think we should change from arguing and debating opinions to discussing them. In an argument, each side will be close minded and hostile. A discussion is more relaxed and easier to do.The only issue with this is that a majority of components to communication is lost because of social media. This can lead to misunderstandings and lead into arguments.

All-in-all, although everyone will have different thoughts and opinions on sensitive topics, those people deserve to speak their mind. If you disagree, have a discussion about it. Let others speak their mind, so you aren't a hypocrite in telling yours.