In today's world, we are faced with numerous types of people with varying beliefs and opinions. It is no longer true that we all are virtually in agreement about what we believe or how we think that we should live. In fact, I think that our country is in one of the biggest divides that has existed in a long time. It is normal to see excessive bickering, arguing, and finger pointing at one another. We disagree over presidential election candidates. We fight over what groups of people are more important, and we shame people who don't hold our moral standards. It's a crazy society to navigate in, but it is possible to co-exist peacefully.

It is to be expected that people are different from one another. We all have our own ideas and desires, and we all like to think that we know what is best. However, it becomes an issue when we degrade each other in order to voice our opinions. It becomes easy for us to place the blame for society's downfall on the people whose logic differs from our own. It is also much easier for us to persecute others behind the safety of our social media accounts. We cannot expect someone to value our opinion if we are maliciously attacking them for their own. We have 24/7 access to the people around us through the internet, and while that can be a positive thing, I feel that we often use it for malice.

The key to having relationships with people whose opinions differ from our own is painfully simple: respect each other. It seems that this basic idea has become lost among a vast majority of people today. Instead, we grow impatient, annoyed, and harshly judgmental over beliefs that do not match our own. We persecute people who have no idea why we are doing it. Something that we must keep in mind is that the people that we persecute believe in their ideals just as strongly as we believe in our own. So, why are we attacking them for it? Maybe they are wrong. Maybe we are wrong. Honestly, it does not matter.

We don't have to agree with someone to respect their opinion. Respecting someone for their own original thoughts will help us prevail. If we can appreciate our differences, we can learn from each other. We may not ever believe what our neighbor does, but through respecting their beliefs we can come to understand them. It is our own pride and lack of compassion that leads us to diminish our respect towards other people. Our daily lives are too intertwined with those around us for negativity to be the anchor in our interactions. When we establish respect, we enable the opportunity for growth.