I was raised in a very standard and traditional household. A father who was raised Roman Catholic who converted to Christianity, and a mother who had been a Christian for most of her life. I was raised in a Christian, non-violent, loving household. In many households, the political viewpoints of the parents are forced upon the children, however, this was not the case in my home. The way I was raised, if my brother or I had a question regarding politics, my father would explain both sides of the political spectrum and their views regarding the subject.

When I was old enough to decide what my political standpoint was, I found that my viewpoints matched that of the Republican party, and to be more specific, my viewpoints aligned with Conservatives. The one thing, however, that I was entirely unsure on was the standpoint of gay rights and the LGBTQ community. The views, after having been interested in politics for a while, seemed to be split down the middle within each party. Like I said, I was raised in a Christian household, so when I was in doubt about something, I generally referred to the church for an answer. As you can imagine, the viewpoint of the church on gay rights was that homosexuality was wrong and to be avoided.

For years upon years of my life, my friends, may of whom were liberal, would ask me about my viewpoints of gay rights, and of course telling them that homosexuality was against my religion was an unsettling answer, and I was often lectured for my views. I was asked about my views on this subject so frequently that it was almost like it was a question that was asked so that a fought could be had. Although, I stood strong on my views because I felt that standing up and saying that homosexuality was wrong was what God would want me to do.

I was wrong.

I don’t exactly know when my views changed, but they did. I wont sit here and pretend that I have always been loving and tolerant, because I haven’t. So, why did my views change? Don’t get me wrong, I am still Jesus loving, daily worshiper, but I found something interesting. In John 13:34-35 states, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” In 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” And the most compelling to me, 1 John 3:15-16 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

In 1 John 3:15-16, it literally states that those who hate are equivalent to murderers. This may seem extreme, but it really speaks to the concept. We are told to love one another, and we are told to “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We, as human beings, religious, agnostic, atheist, do not have any single right to judge others.

We are human beings, every single one of us. Every beating heart, every thinking brain, and every warm body qualifies as a human being. This, among other things, is what made me change my viewpoints and find the beauty in tolerance and love. The moment I truly changed my views, I asked myself, “Who the hell am I to tell someone they are wrong?” The answer is pretty simple: I have no right to tell anyone how to live their life.

I have always advocated for loving people in their entirety. I don’t mean loving every person in a romantic way, evidently, but show every single person love. The way I see it, if you are straight, gay, transgender, bisexual, whatever you are, you deserve love from people. It is crazy to me, even in 2016, how intolerant some people are, and how much there is a lack of love there is.

The philosophy I live by is simple: Love every human, be kind to every human, respect every human. Love every human simply means show everyone love, you never know how much a little bit of love and compassion can change and individual’s day, or even their life. Be kind to every human just means, to me, to be genuine, speak kindly, and exude kind acts in your daily life. Arguably the most important is to show respect. Call someone by what they prefer, do not ever tell someone that their sexuality is wrong, don’t whisper to your friend about someone who is dressed differently or acts differently. Overall, just don’t judge, and if you do, catch yourself and correct yourself. That is true with everything and for everyone.

As far as it goes for politics, I am still a Conservative leaning Libertarian. However, I will continue to advocate and fight for the basic human rights of all people. A miniscule group of politicians should never have the right to choose for an entire country, we need to start making decisions on our own.

And one more thing, life is a lot easier when you just show love and accept everyone as they come. Difference is what makes mankind unique, don't try and destroy that.