An ignorant trend

As someone who has political views that are often in the minority on our campus, I try not only to research and strengthen my own views, but to better understand the views of people who disagree with many of the ideals and policies I have.

For this reason, I try to gather my information from a variety of sources.

While I cannot deny the charms of Bill O’Reilly, I keep in tune with my more liberal friends on a daily basis. This includes, of course, The Huffington Post, whose writers are talented and from whose articles I’ve learned a thing or two.

Recently, however, I read an article on that site that truly upset me. It dealt with President Barack Obama visiting schools and the uproar that surfaced as a result of parents who didn’t want their children exposed to his speech.

As we know, this type of thing happens all the time.

There are some ideological differences present in this country that spur controversy over issues that, to me, are much less important than the state of our economy, for one.

However, when these controversial issues are brought up, people can become so angry they say things that just create bigger rifts.

For example, saying that the Republican party has “a disturbing core of religious fundamentalists, ultra-conservatives, and all-purpose extremists whose true motivation ... is a hatred of everyone and everything that is different from them” may be a little much, no?

And people do this all the time – to all political parties.

So while a group of people may be upset that some parents were opposed to their child hearing the President of the United States speak, those people could now think that these parents are “the true Ugly Americans, who hate the Jews, the Blacks, the Latinos, the homosexuals – and anybody who believes in anything they do not, or whose lifestyle does not align with theirs.”

As long as our country continues to exalt the freedoms we exercise daily, there are going to be radicals on either side.

We are entitled to our own opinions, but we need to respect and understand that many people hold opposing views – and that is OK. It’s part of what makes us American.
Shouting out “Liar!” as our President addresses the nation isn’t getting us anywhere.
Similarly, me reacting to an upsetting article that spewed out ignorant generalizations wouldn’t be very productive.

Every time I argue with my liberal friends, I try to avoid calling them lazy free-riders who spend their extra time tied to trees, because it wouldn’t be right.
So for all those people out there who consider themselves progressive liberal thinkers, why don’t you start the trend of ending this ignorant one?