It has become painfully obvious that we are a country divided on many issues with politics seemingly being one of the most obvious.  We all have an opinion about our elected officials, our President, Congressmen and even locally appointed officials, but our passionate and otherwise healthy debatable opinions have evolved into bickering, ridicule and hatred, even among family and friends.  Why?  What ever happened to us being civilized enough to have a mature debate on topics like politics and religion without it becoming a spiteful argument, where people have resorted to hurtful words and even deleting their “opponents” from their lives?  People are actually being bullied, harassed and even beaten for their opinions and feelings.  Is this really what we’ve become?

I am taken back to September 11, 2001, when our country came under attack and thousands of innocent people were killed and injured.  That day, it didn’t matter what your religion, race, sexual preference or political opinions were.  No one cared.  We stepped up as one, people jumping in to help others, period, the way that it should be, while we triumphed against our enemy.

You see, it isn’t the politicians, it isn’t religion or race or anything else that is destroying us.  It is us destroying ourselves with hatred and bitter words that aren’t so easily forgiven, and we are furthermore allowing the media to encourage this and divide us.  Social media is crammed with arguments about everything from the Superbowl to the President, convincing me that we are simply looking for a reason to bicker with one another, regardless of the consequences.  We are willing to forfeit relationships and friendships in order to make a point.  Why?  Why are we allowing families and friends to turn against one another simply because we don’t agree on something?  What do we really have to gain by this?  Chances are, you aren’t going to change my mind and I won’t change yours so why not simply agree to disagree respectfully?

By turning on one another, we lose our strength and value as a nation.  We show weakness in the eyes of other countries, thereby targeting ourselves for terrorism and other threats because we have lost our unity.  We reveal cracks amid the freedom that so many others seek and we continue to abuse.  They aspire to live in our country because of those freedoms and because of our unity and strength as a nation, yet here we stand, carelessly destroying it piece by piece because we would rather be right than strong.

It is completely fine to disagree with one another, America.  It is okay, even healthy, to have differing opinions and feelings, even the most passionate ones about any topic, but it is NOT okay to penalize someone for theirs.  I welcome and value your opinions and am willing to sit for an intelligent and thought-provoking conversation about our opposing views in hopes that it will allow us both to see all sides, open up our minds and find compromise, but what I won’t do is permit you to force them on me or condemn me simply because I don’t agree with you.  You are welcome to yours as am I welcome to mine, and it needs to be left at that if we aren’t able to respect one another.  At the end of the day, we are one people, one America united, in spite of our different views, and we need to remember that always.  Simply MY opinion.  God Bless America!