“Now, before I begin, in no way do I mean to offend anyone by what I am about to say.” Hold up one moment. I’m going to have to stop you right there. I can’t tell you how many times a day I see someone post on Facebook, with a disclaimer similar to the one above at the beginning of their post. I'll even admit that I’m guilty of having said this once or twice. Frankly, it needs to stop. Our society has started to become scared of speaking their mind based on the premise that they might offend someone with their opinion. Well I’m here to tell you today to get over it.
Freedom of speech is a really cool thing that our government put into place a long time ago. Basically, you can say whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, at any time, provided you’re not a terrorist, because then we have a problem. But most of today’s society isn’t taking advantage of this great right we have as Americans. We need to stop worrying about offending someone and we need to start speaking our minds.
If you want to make a Facebook status about how much you hate cats, make that status. Yes, people love cats might get offended and comment on it, but who cares? In life it is completely unrealistic to think that you can please everyone you meet with what you say. Differing opinions are awesome, and without opposition, our society would fall to pieces. Our government has different political parties for a reason. Everyone doesn’t have to think the same and that is the beauty of life.
Now, I understand that there are boundaries when it comes to speaking your mind. In no way am I suggesting that you write a page long post about how much you hate a certain religion or ethnicity because that’s just not OK. But if you do want to tell the world how proud you are to be a Christian, Jew, Muslim or whatever -- tell the world! Be proud of your opinions and beliefs because they make you who you are as a person. Can you imagine how boring our world would be without different people in it, who believe different things?
Stop using disclaimers and start speaking your mind without worrying about what others are going to think of you. If you offend someone, they’ll get over it. Don’t ever feel guilty for what you believe. You are an individual with your own opinions and that’s a beautiful thing. Speak that beautiful mind of yours and encourage others to do the same. I am proud to say I prefer Moe’s Southwest Grill over Chipotle Mexican Grill -- and Chipotle lovers are just going to have to deal with that. Sorry, not sorry.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss.
