When did “I disagree with you” become synonymous with “I hate you”? The rise of intolerance across our nation lately has been unreal. There are people getting kicked out of rallies left and right (no pun intended), and brawls breaking out over differing ideologies. When did this become the standard? When did disagreement become a bad thing? Our nation is one that thrives on diversity, so why are we now condemning others for being different or not holding our values?

At this point everyone knows that I am a conservative, and that I stand for conservative values. I have come to my own realization that, for me, conservative values are those that best reflect my ideology and what I hold to be true. However, that does not mean that I hate those who stand behind liberal values. They have their reasons for holding their values, and I have my reasons for standing behind mine. While I may not agree with certain liberal values, it does not mean that I hate those who hold those values. For example, being against gay marriage does not mean that you hate those who are gay or in a homosexual relationship. While being against gay marriage does mean that you disagree with the act of homosexual marriage, it does not under any circumstance mean that you hate those people.

Being completely upfront with you there are going to be people that disagree with you. I highly doubt that there are any two people on this planet who hold the exact same viewpoint on every single issue that could possibly arise. So, you better get used to opposing views because it is something you are going to have to deal with for the rest of your life—so if you start working on it now it will make the rest of your life a whole lot easier. Not everyone is going to see eye-to-eye with you on politics, religion, education, etc. The sooner you come to accept that fact, the better off you will be.

Now that we have established that people will disagree with you it is time to address this misconception of hatred and disagreement. So, I'm going to go back to my earlier example of gay marriage. If someone disagrees with gay marriage, it does not mean that she hates all gay people and is homophobic. What it does mean is that she dislikes or hates the act of gay marriage. This is different, however, from hating the person who is involved in a homosexual relationship.

See, Jude 1:22-23 reads, “And you must show mercy to those who whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.” (NLT) God calls us to hate the sin, but not to hate the person committing the sin.

See, it isn’t the person you hate for their beliefs, it is their belief system that you may hate, which is different than hating the person. It really doesn’t matter if you’re an Atheist or a devout follower of a religion or somewhere in between, we disagree with people, but we do not hate them.

It is hurtful to have people call me things like "homophobic.” It is hurtful to have people hate me because they disagree with my viewpoint or opinion. Recently, coming out as a college student on the conservative side of the spectrum, I have been the victim of countless hateful acts. As I said I have been called "homophobic", "discriminatory", "close-minded", "unwelcoming", "cruel", "rude", "a Jesus freak" among many other demeaning names that I do not care to post on an article that is out there for the public to read. Now, I am sure that people on the liberal side have received backlash as well. I would not know the specifics of that situation, as I have not personally been in that situation, but I am able to attest to what my personal experience is and has been. It is not just merely the rise of the intolerant left or right anymore--it is the rise of intolerance period--regardless of ideology. It is time that we realize that people are allowed to have different opinions--it is part of what makes the United States such a great place! We are such a diverse nation, and that is wonderful. As I said before, you are allowed to disagree with someone's opinion, but what you aren't allowed to do is tear the other person down for his or her viewpoint. Disagreement is not synonymous with hatred.

Hate the act—not the person.