Boss
Take a Memo:
I recently had a lengthy debate on Facebook with one of my many liberal friends. I don't often do this because I respect the fact that our opinions are different, but this was an exception because of how he set up the presentation of his viewpoint. He began by telling us he was a "free thinker" and an "open minded" person who held "independent" views. That's fine, I think of myself as the same way, as do many people. Most of us simply do not conform to any particular stereotype, we are our own person with our own varying opinions on things. That said, I know this person is very passionate about what they believe. I respect that in him, even though I disagree with him often.
He made the observation that some consider him a conservative because he is a strong advocate of gun rights while others consider him a liberal because he supports gay marriage. I simply pointed out that many liberals are pro-gun and many conservatives are libertarians who support the individual liberty aspects of gay marriage. In other words, you can't put everyone in a liberal or conservative box, we are all different. He also lamented that he didn't think people should be judged or stereotyped, and I really felt my remarks were in line with exactly what he was saying.
His reply to me was, "No offense, but we all know your animosity toward liberals!" I corrected him on this, as I have no animosity toward liberals, I just think they are wrong about things. Well, that was all it took. The next thing I know, all of his liberal friends were weighing in. One after another proceeded to stereotype me, apply labels and judge me based on their false perceptions and assumptions. It was quite astonishing to watch this display from the "open minded free thinkers who don't believe in stereotyping or judging others" but it was happening before my eyes.
You see, liberals seem to believe that "free thinker" means you think about liberal viewpoints and reject everything else. The term "open minded" means your mind is open to liberal opinions and ideas and closed to everything else. Stereotyping and judging are perfectly acceptable behavior for a liberal when applied to a conservative but it is simply called "telling it like it is!" Whenever someone disagrees with a liberal, it must be because they hate the liberal or are angry at them.
I was then told that I should keep my opinions to myself and refrain from commenting on my friend's posts. But wait, what about all that tolerance and respect for individuality? If you've posted your opinion on Facebook, I presume you understand that some people may not agree with your opinion. Certainly no one could be under the delusion that social media is an outlet for your to post your opinions and have everyone heap praises upon your for your brilliant observations without one iota of disagreement.
It seems to me, today's liberal, when not thinking with their hearts are wearing them on their sleeve. It is almost as if they believe there is a Constitutional right to not have their feelings hurt. I think the Sarah Palin quote is applicable here: "Buck up or stay in the truck!" I can dig that you are passionate about your views, but you need to dig that I may not agree with your views, I may have a different view that isn't the same as yours, and I may be just as passionate. Open minded free thinkers should be able to weigh all opinions and consider them equally without casting aspersions.
After a few hours of back and forth name-calling, my friend casually decided to delete his post. I had apparently upset the apple cart by basically agreeing with him, that we should all be able to express our ideas and views without being judged or stereotyped and pointing out that not everyone agreed with his view. I had upset his liberal friends by challenging his viewpoint while they lined up to heap praise on his open minded insight and analysis. I am dreadfully sorry to say that some of our mutual friends decided to 'defriend' me because of that post. So much for bringing unity to discourse, eh?
How are we supposed to move forward with any sort of dialogue in this country? We have a group of liberal people who believe their ideas and views are unassailable and any challenge is viewed as hate speech. They claim to be tolerant but they are completely intolerant. They claim to be free thinking, but their mind is closed to any other thought which deviates from their own views. They don't want to be stereotyped or judged, yet they are the first to stereotype and judge those on the right who may disagree with their views.
The really ironic thing was, I never actually got to articulate my personal viewpoint on an issue. The incident blossomed around my argument that not everyone agrees with liberals. If this is where we are stuck at, we've got some major problems ahead trying to reconstruct purposeful dialogue. I honestly don't know where you go from there.
He made the observation that some consider him a conservative because he is a strong advocate of gun rights while others consider him a liberal because he supports gay marriage. I simply pointed out that many liberals are pro-gun and many conservatives are libertarians who support the individual liberty aspects of gay marriage. In other words, you can't put everyone in a liberal or conservative box, we are all different. He also lamented that he didn't think people should be judged or stereotyped, and I really felt my remarks were in line with exactly what he was saying.
His reply to me was, "No offense, but we all know your animosity toward liberals!" I corrected him on this, as I have no animosity toward liberals, I just think they are wrong about things. Well, that was all it took. The next thing I know, all of his liberal friends were weighing in. One after another proceeded to stereotype me, apply labels and judge me based on their false perceptions and assumptions. It was quite astonishing to watch this display from the "open minded free thinkers who don't believe in stereotyping or judging others" but it was happening before my eyes.
You see, liberals seem to believe that "free thinker" means you think about liberal viewpoints and reject everything else. The term "open minded" means your mind is open to liberal opinions and ideas and closed to everything else. Stereotyping and judging are perfectly acceptable behavior for a liberal when applied to a conservative but it is simply called "telling it like it is!" Whenever someone disagrees with a liberal, it must be because they hate the liberal or are angry at them.
I was then told that I should keep my opinions to myself and refrain from commenting on my friend's posts. But wait, what about all that tolerance and respect for individuality? If you've posted your opinion on Facebook, I presume you understand that some people may not agree with your opinion. Certainly no one could be under the delusion that social media is an outlet for your to post your opinions and have everyone heap praises upon your for your brilliant observations without one iota of disagreement.
It seems to me, today's liberal, when not thinking with their hearts are wearing them on their sleeve. It is almost as if they believe there is a Constitutional right to not have their feelings hurt. I think the Sarah Palin quote is applicable here: "Buck up or stay in the truck!" I can dig that you are passionate about your views, but you need to dig that I may not agree with your views, I may have a different view that isn't the same as yours, and I may be just as passionate. Open minded free thinkers should be able to weigh all opinions and consider them equally without casting aspersions.
After a few hours of back and forth name-calling, my friend casually decided to delete his post. I had apparently upset the apple cart by basically agreeing with him, that we should all be able to express our ideas and views without being judged or stereotyped and pointing out that not everyone agreed with his view. I had upset his liberal friends by challenging his viewpoint while they lined up to heap praise on his open minded insight and analysis. I am dreadfully sorry to say that some of our mutual friends decided to 'defriend' me because of that post. So much for bringing unity to discourse, eh?
How are we supposed to move forward with any sort of dialogue in this country? We have a group of liberal people who believe their ideas and views are unassailable and any challenge is viewed as hate speech. They claim to be tolerant but they are completely intolerant. They claim to be free thinking, but their mind is closed to any other thought which deviates from their own views. They don't want to be stereotyped or judged, yet they are the first to stereotype and judge those on the right who may disagree with their views.
The really ironic thing was, I never actually got to articulate my personal viewpoint on an issue. The incident blossomed around my argument that not everyone agrees with liberals. If this is where we are stuck at, we've got some major problems ahead trying to reconstruct purposeful dialogue. I honestly don't know where you go from there.
