The beauty of America derives from the power of the people. We are provided with the freedom to own, share, and create personal opinions regarding social and political policies. However, this evidently can cause extreme conflict between individuals who have different perspectives.
Last year I allowed my personal opinions to cause conflict between someone I loved and I. I spent Fathers Day fighting with my relatives because we had two different political opinions, and of course, I believe I was completely right. I believed there was no other perspective besides my personal views. As a result, I did show appreciation and love for my father, rather I acted selfishly. Looking back on this conflict it seems foolish for anyone’s political views to essentially blind the love we have for one another, especially because we both lack influence on our government and how the country functions. It’s vital to care about our government and current events, but not at the expense of our personal relationships.
There’s a thin line between debating political views civilly and fighting over political views. Here, we begin to play the “who’s right and who’s wrong” game. Recently, during the Kavanaugh versus Dr. Ford case I have allowed my passion for women’s rights and sexual assault awareness to overtake my passion for my loved ones. I stopped listening to what people were saying to me if it wasn’t exactly what and how I wanted to hear it. An aspect of Saint Michael’s College that I thrive from is having the opportunity to form my own opinions away from my parents. However, this opportunity sometimes causes me to focus an immense amount of what can be changed within our society and not enough enjoying the amazing people I have in my life.
So….
Find your opinion and find your values. But, make sure those opinions and values still allow you to enjoy and appreciate your loved ones. Don’t lose someone you love because you were too stubborn to listen to their perspective. Regardless of our personal thoughts, we are all fighting the same war and attempting to fight it with as much kindness and love as possible.