You could say that it took some growing up before I began to feel this way and try my best to follow through on the concept myself. But when you step back and think about it, everyone has their own issues to deal with, their own burdens to carry, their own struggles to overcome. You can never fully know what another person is feeling and why, so it may be easy to assume, judge, label, insult, name-call, and disrespect someone you don’t agree with or that has differing beliefs or values to yourself. But is it fair to do so? No. Just as you wouldn’t want others to do the same to you, when they have no idea what you’re living through, what you've experienced.
This extends to politics as well. It is perfectly fine to disagree with another person’s politics. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. There is no need for assumptions, judgement, labelling, insults, name-calling, and disrespect. They’re just people. They have families. They’re just trying to live life the best way they know how. I think we have some choices to consider, in ascending order of practicality:
- Keep your opinion to yourself.
- If asked, voice your opinion, but in a respectful way.
- Listen to the other person’s point of view and try to understand their position and why they feel that way.
- Consider that you might be missing vital facts, misinformed, misguided, or dare I say just wrong, and challenge your own views from time to time.
- Learn to compromise.
No comments:
Post a Comment