The one thing about today's society that I will never understand is how easily every person is so offended by every little thing, some may even get offended over this article. I am constantly tiptoeing around everything I want to say to be careful that I do not somehow mistakenly offend someone- and sometimes I still do! When did people start taking things so personally? No one is allowed to share a thought or an opinion without someone finding a reason for it to be racist, sexist, ageist, or offensive in some other way or worrying about “imposing their beliefs/morals” on others these days and it is a ridiculous thing to worry about!

If I were to say something as simple as “I like vanilla ice cream” or “Vanilla ice cream is the best!” suddenly a whole group of people would attack me saying “what about chocolate ice cream?” or “Chocolate is better” sending hate my way for stating an opinion I have that they disagree with. What is the point? Why are you offended if someone has a different opinion than you? A better example that I see a lot is parents with young children in sports. They are so afraid of the kids getting upset and offended if the are not a “winner”, they get upset when their kids are put in these rankings and places and think all the kids should be “winners” for participation. By doing this you are also teaching your kids to be offended by these things. Winning and losing happens all the time and will happen throughout their lives. You should be teaching them to have fun and do what they love regardless and that losing does not mean that they are a bad person or should not continue with these activities instead of teaching them to get offended over little things.

More controversial issues include gay rights and abortion, both of which are frowned upon in the catholic faith and some people do not agree with. Just because someone believes that these things are wrong, does not mean they think any less of one who supports them. For instance, I am pro-life myself, I do not support abortion. I could go on and argue with others who disagree with me on this and I often get into many arguments with people when it is brought up. However, I am not offended when others do not agree or think differently than I, I respect their views and I do not think any less of them for believing in pro-choice, nor do I of those who do have abortions. Although often times I am afraid to even say I am pro-life because there are many people who get so offended that I believe this and say that then I “must not be for women's rights”, showing hatred and disgusted in my views. Why is it so offensive that I have a different belief than you? I am not attacking anyone personally and my goal is not to offend anyone, but it is what I believe and I will not be ashamed of that.

Our society needs to learn that things others believe and say should not be taken so personally. Whether someone is right or wrong in what they say, or if you just disagree, does not mean you should get angry and defensive about it. It is creating so much division and hate in our society today. Take some of the Trump supporters for example. One woman and a rally said, “If you don’t support Trump get away from me, I don’t want to talk to you.” Why are we letting a difference in opinion divide us? You as an individual will never be able to control popular opinion, everyone has their own thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. We must accept that. Try listening to other people's opinions rather than shutting them down. Arguments and conversation about opposing views is OKAY, but hate, death threats, and defensiveness is not. We should not have to constantly worry that what we say is going to cause backlash and hatred towards us, we should not have to carefully tiptoe around every word we say and every conversation we have as to not offend anyone. Simply stop taking things personally, it is not meant to be taken that way.