When you disagree with someone, you discuss it. Name calling is bad. Both easy lessons we all learned in school, however they seem to be difficult to remember once we are out. It is this lack of respect and understanding that is becoming a plague in our society.
African American rights, womens rights, gay rights, Islam, abortion... they all are or were very heated topics. They are close to our hearts, upset the status quo, and can make us uncomfortable. It is easy to understand how something that can be so personal and important can quickly become a heated argument or even erupt into violence. It seems at the beginning is always name calling. Those against abortion call themselves "pro-life" and call those for abortion "baby killers". On the other side, those for abortion call themselves "pro-life" or "pro-choice" and call those against abortion "anti-choice". Quite emotionally charged words, aren't they?
This name calling, while childish and honestly quite dumb, also has a very serious and dangerous affect. It distances us from the real issue. In the case of abortion, with talking about "pro-life" and "baby killers" it is easy to forget what is at the heart of the issue. The issue is not some political cause or an ideology. The issue is that a woman has been raped, or a woman's health is in danger because of her unborn child, or that a woman simply no longer wants a baby. The issue is peoples lives. Once we set aside the cleverly rhyming words we see that scared woman. And whether we agree with her wishes or not, we can all agree we no longer want to see her scared.
In addition to be distanced from the topic, it distances us from those of other views and opinions. This is easily done by using the word "opponent". The word "opponent" in itself is fine, however the context we see it in may be skewed. When I hear "opponent" I think of sports, and I don't even watch or follow sports. In sports an "opponent" is one to be beaten, the enemy of what you want. Also, there are no compromises in sports: you win or lose. When someone with a different view point is called an "opponent", they are being boxed as different from you, wrong, and someone to be defeated.
All this is not to say we need to agree on anything. We simply need to remember that we are all humans, generally trying to do what we believe is best for our families and ourselves. Respect one another and talk about topics like the adults we all are. I grew out of name calling. Have you?
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I'm right and you're the devil!
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