[Adventures] In Differing Opinions

[Adventure 10]

I've noticed a trend -  on all "sides" of several different issues - of people on social media stating that if you don't believe the same thing they do, to unfriend you. I tend to think differently.

I can understand not wanting the stress of reading posts from people who believe things that go against everything you believe in and not wanting to have people argue with you on your own social media pages. Nevertheless, I do see the value in knowing where people who differ from you stand on certain things and perhaps even their thought processes. I can choose to engage in conversation or to continue scrolling. I do respect that some need to unfriend or block people for their own mental health and definitely support limiting contact with those who are toxic.

I appreciate yearning to surround yourself with like-minded people who uplift and support each other. However, I see more growth happening in my life when I challenge what I believe and the opinions I hold; when I try to see things through others' eyes in order to understand where they're coming from, even if I don't agree. When I surround myself solely with people who think like me, I find I get too comfortable and to complacent. I strive to come to peace with the fact that, if I'm going to embrace this diverse world, I need to accept the right for diversity of opinion as well - even as I speak out against what I believe is harmful and hateful. 

What I do believe, however, is that I can have and express an opinion that a group of people is wrong, or indoctrinated into a harmful belief system, or un-Christian, or dangerous. And that if the group of people I may have a negative opinion about expects me to accept their right to have and express their opinion, they should accept my right to have and express mine. They don't want to feel attacked for having their opinion, so they shouldn't literally attack others who disagree with them. I can state my values and beliefs in relation to a topic without it being an attack on those who differ in opinion. I can hold the concern that a group of people is being manipulated into believing certain things or is blindly following someone without it being an insult to that group of people.

I can, based on my belief that Jesus commanded that we are to love our neighbors with no exceptions, come to my own conclusion that some people who call themselves Christian are not at all acting Christ-like when they incite violence against others, actively work to take away rights of particular groups of people, support people who promote racism and discrimination, and deny inequalities and injustices that run rampant in our society. This is not a personal attack on any individual, and if someone chooses to take it as such, then they must see this not-at-all-Christian behavior in themselves or in their support for others who perpetrate these actions.

Understanding that voicing my opinion more than likely won't change anyone's mind, I do it instead to be the voice of the oppressed, the discriminated against, the powerless. I don't express my opinion to attack anyone. I express it because I value the civil exchange of ideas and opinions and believe in the importance of learning about differing points of view. 

When people argue that good things have happened for some because of what a particular group has done, I ask questions. At what cost? Do all of  their actions, their words, their policies, their opinions promote justice, mercy, equality, and love for all fellow human beings? 

I don't expect everyone I'm friends with on social media to agree with me, but I do expect them to respect that I will have my own views and will express them with just as much passion as they express theirs. I expect them to know me well enough to know that my intent is not to convince, convict, or argue, but to inform. You see it one way. I see it another. What's so wrong or bad about that?

So if you don't want to hear that God loves and accepts everyone; the bible, when you understand the language and culture, doesn't say anything against LGBTQIA+ people; that Christians don't support people who are racist, ableist, transphobic, homophobic, or who incite violence and neither do I; that science is real; that we all can do better in our interactions with and love for our fellow human beings; and that in being or supporting someone who is against LGBTQIA+ people, you are also against my family, then I'm not sure why you're on my social media in the first place - but I do hope you're open-minded enough to listen and I value you as a human being who has their own unique views on the world.