UNITED STATES—We live in a country right now where you are either for this or you are against that. There is NO IN BETWEEN THERE IS NO MIDDLE! If you have a differing of opinion from someone else you are immediately shun or considered the enemy. The jury, the judge and the executioner has already determined your fate and it is a sad one America.
What ever happened to having a healthy debate? Why can’t we have differing opinions from others and not be crucified for it? It seems EVERYTHING in this country is so political. The economy, the coronavirus, the vaccine, politics, sports, entertainment, movies, TV, nothing is off limits and it’s just depressing America. I don’t have to necessarily agree with someone else on a particular issue, but at the same time I’m not going to disown them and toss them to the wolves for having an opinion I don’t agree with.
In a healthy debate, you present your point, your opponent presents their point and then you both attempt to counter the points presented to you. That is how you reach some sort of common ground. You may not always reach those terms amicably, but you don’t just disregard them as if they don’t exist. That is where we stand America and it’s entering the territory of ‘cancel culture’ and being ‘woke.’ Look, I’m going to be frank and honest; I hate both of those terms. I really don’t want to hear grown people saying they’re ‘woke’ without knowing exactly what it means.
Being ‘woke’ is another way of saying you’re hypersensitive to everything or you’re calling out things that you think are wrong that may not necessarily be wrong. There is nothing wrong with being ‘woke’ as people say it nowadays especially when you spot something wrong and you call it out America. It is another thing to simply do it because you’re trying to fit in with everyone else. Like seriously, like seriously, c’mon people, that is the double edged sword of social media it has totally changed how we communicate, behave and interact with others.
It’s more about being seen, heard and known, versus communicating with the rest of the world. Don’t put out a statement and not expect someone to comment on it. If you post it on social media guess what EVERYONE IS GOING TO SEE IT! You invite yourself to the criticism, so don’t go crying or feel attacked when it transpires. This is not saying to be quiet, you have that freedom of speech per the First Amendment of the Constitution, but as I have argued time and time again, you don’t have protection from the public. So it’s the world we live in and if you’re going to post something you KNOW people are going to have an ‘opinion’ on, expect to hear the opposing view and decipher it the best way possible, this is not the same as enduring racist, sexist, or ignorant commentary, which should NOT be allowed or tolerated, yet it still occurs in our country and it is something we will indeed have to endure for years and years to come people.
We need to learn that NOT everyone is going to agree with your opinion and guess what that is ok. Even more, people need to stop attempting to shove their opinion onto someone else. How you feel and think about an issue is your perspective. How someone else feels and thinks about an issue is their perspective. That is the great thing about being a human being; you have the opportunity to free thoughts. You can express and discuss them how you wish, it’s just we need to act a bit more civilized when we do it.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
