By: Nicolette Behm
Well, I think I can speak for everyone that this week has been a lot of super charged emotions. SCOTUS over turned ROE v. WADE, they issued an opinion in favor of 2nd Amendment, overall as a constitutionalist I was filled with joy. That’s not exactly what I want to talk about in this today, I want to talk about what the country as a whole is seriously lacking -the art of debate.
Time and time again I myself have caught myself in Facebook arguments, as the keyboard warriors come out in droves on my controversial statuses. It usually only leads to one thing, name calling, memes, and just down right ridicule for my beliefs. I know I can’t be alone in this. Many of you have experienced this as well with social media and even in person with family and friends. I try to never let it get to me. While I wasn’t taught debate in high school, I find myself very respectful in listening to opinions, as well as presenting facts. This is usually when people start attacking personally and swearing at me. I build my cases so strong it’s really the only coping mechanism they can resort to try and cut me down spiritually.
There’s always going to be duality in this world and I think people sometimes fail to recognize this. “My way or the highway” type of mentality. Bottom line, this just won’t work anymore.
Red vs. blue, black vs. white, good vs. evil… how do we get to any balance with radicalism on both sides?
It’s time to start looking at the world through purple colored glasses.
Abortion is an extremely touchy subject for many people, most responses led by emotional pleas. Let’s look at the reality of it though, it will NEVER go away.
No matter what laws are set into place people will find a way. Yes, there is people out there that will seek out a way to kill their babies regardless of the laws. Crazy, I know, but that’s the reality. I sat back Friday afternoon as many posts were written in anger and sadness thinking we are left with no choices over our bodies. We know it’s really about the body of the child, but so often does the “blue” side actually listen to biologist. Some of the largest arguments on this state women won’t have a choice- regardless of rape, incest, ectopic pregnancies ( I know, that ones not actually an abortion, but let’s pretend they did their homework). For me, even a single cell is life and I fully respect the right to life. While others dehumanize it and have even told me “it’s not viable until 24 weeks”. Once again completely untrue even if we were arguing the timeline, but lets pretend again. How did we get this radical on both sides?
Abortion use to be limited to first trimester unless medically needed otherwise. Simple, we gave an inch, they took a mile. Senator Mazie Hirono pled her case to congress for what they call “late term abortion” up to the time of birth the mother had the right to choose to end the life of the baby. Essentially infanticide, if it was born alive, it’s left for dead and “made comfortable” as it starves and passes away. I don’t know about you, but we give people on death row a better execution than that.
Then you have our side, the pro- lifers, and I don’t say that in a bad way. We want to outright ban abortions for any way possible, any excuse possible, literally doesn’t matter under any circumstances.
That’s not reality.
Never will be unfortunately.
It’s the same with our rights to own guns.. liberals wanting to ban all guns where ass we feel we’re entitled to any gun we choose. If you ban all guns, law breakers are still going to find and own them no matter what.
This writing might not go over well but I truly think it’s important for the sake of restoring the republic we start to find middle ground. No one is willing to listen to each other. No one is willing to compromise. Majority and loudest wins, always.
I write this today not to take a stance of any of the examples mentioned, but to remind you all opposing sides will never move forward. Are we going to agree on everything? No. Can we learn to communicate the differences between our beliefs and respect them ? I think there’s hope in that.
So next time someone opposes your views, present them with facts but importantly listen to any facts they might present as well.
Everyone’s trying to talk over each other and I think at the end of the day what we should be trying to do is listen.
This doesn’t go to say throw out your morals and give in to the other side, it’s then when grudges are made and nothing is actually resolved. Sometimes there truly isn’t a winner but both sides can live with the decisions.
Life is never black and white, we need to intermix into gray.
