World Blog

I hate extremism. From both liberal and conservative perspectives, any person that tries to beat you over your head with his or her agenda is annoying, no matter what the agenda is. I barely dislike people. Usually, I can tolerate someone talking about their agenda. In fact, I want to be open to hearing opinions different than mine. But, it can reach a point where I very clearly indicated that I’m not interested in or don’t want to talk about the subject anymore, and the person still hammers his or her beliefs down my face. This is where the problem comes in.

Extremists tend to paint those who have differing opinions from them in a very “black-and-white” manner. Especially in this current political climate, so many of us are quick to judge people based off their general beliefs. We are quick to just assume that certain individuals fall under every single factor of the group that they are a part of. We are quick to make blanket statements like “All Democrats are _______________” or “Republicans always _______________.” We barely give people one chance to provide their reasoning as to why they support certain ideas or people.

To be true global citizens, I think we should have polite discourse with one another. Before judging people of their agendas, we should first see why they support their agenda and to what extent. Are they vehement supporters? Do they support it but also open to other ideas? It is also important to know if they truly reflect the group they are supporting, as their outward actions can determine society’s perception of the group, regardless if it rings true of the group’s ideologies or not. We shouldn’t shove our own beliefs down other’s faces. We should be clear and concise in explaining why our beliefs are good for this world and how they can be integrated. Consistently pestering someone about your agenda could lead them to deliberately not caring about it.

That’s not to say that we should be like this for all kinds of people though. We should start out by telling these people why their beliefs are immoral and how it could affect people around them. Perhaps, they’ll realize that what they’re supporting is bad and want to change. We can’t initially combat hate with hate; otherwise, these groups will only get stronger and will want to lash out against other even more. Additionally, each individual is different. We don't know what is going on in their lives, so understanding these factors may help us understand why they support certain groups or beliefs. However, if it’s clear that he or she does not want to even slightly consider the immorality of his or her beliefs, then we can reprimand him or her. We are constantly progressing our world with accepting others, and if someone is so vehemently against these advancements in society, then we must hold them accountable of their beliefs. Otherwise, we must help everyone adapt to the changing society through education instead of slander.