There is no denying that the world has had a somber week thanks to the tragedies in Paris and Beirut, among others. While we mourn the loss of innocent lives we hear the question that arises every time that something of this nature comes about: "Why did this happen?"
I am in no way claiming to know why such horrible things have to happen in this world, nor am I here to place blame on anyone, but as I reflected on this week's tragedies something occurred to me and I think that it's time that I speak up about it.
When was the last time that you scrolled through social media without seeing some kind of tension?
I can't get through a visit to Facebook or Twitter without encountering some form of senseless argument. People post malicious things that attack other people's beliefs and others put malicious comments on harmless posts. There is an overwhelming sense of intolerance in almost every facet of life these days and it has got to go.
It's inevitable that your beliefs are not going to match up with the beliefs of every other person in the world and that's fine. It's great to have a healthy, civilized debate every once in a while.
It's when things turn nasty that it's time to take a step back. When you begin to belittle a person based off their beliefs--political, religious, whatever--you need to draw the line.
I am 150 percent in support of the first amendment. Freedom of speech is something that everyone should absolutely exercise to convey their beliefs. However, you shouldn't use freedom of speech as an excuse to be malicious. As a general rule, you shouldn't ever want to be known as a malicious person.
It's okay to disagree, but it is not okay to disrespect.
It doesn't matter if you're conservative or liberal, black or white, Christian or Muslim, gay or straight. Just be a good person.
You want to support Donald Trump? That's great! You want to vote for Bernie Sanders? That's cool! You don't like Starbucks' red cups? That's fine! You're not religious? That's OK!
If you believe something then, by all means, believe it and believe it ardently. Tell people about your beliefs, inform me, exercise your first amendment freedoms, but do not expect me to change my own beliefs and do not make me feel small because we don't see eye to eye on certain things.
The bottom line is this: your beliefs don't make you better than anyone else. None of us have any right to tell anyone else that they're wrong just because we don't believe in the same things.
I shouldn't be afraid to express my opinion, but I am. I'm afraid that if I post a status about who I support in the upcoming election, or how I feel about my religion, then someone is going to weigh in, run me into the ground, and tell me how "wrong" I am to feel this way.
Whatever happened to compromise? What happened to healthy discussion? What happened to tolerance as a whole?
If you're a good person, a good friend, a good citizen, then it shouldn't matter if you're a republican or a democrat, how and where and if you pray, what color you are, or who you're in love with. It's time to stop condemning others because their ideals don't match up with your own.
With Thanksgiving approaching, you should be grateful that you have the freedom to express your beliefs in the first place.
We live in a world of increasing intolerance. Maybe we'll never be able to stop it as a whole, but we have the power to stop it in our own lives.
Next time that you find yourself flaring up over a political Facebook status you should ask yourself if your snarky comment will really do anything. Will it really change anyone's mind?
Does any one of us really have the right to assert that our opinion is better than anyone else's?
We all want to be respected so, in turn, we should respect one another.
It's time to remember the old motto: "United we stand, divided we fall."
Maybe all we need is just a little more tolerance.
