I typically try to stay away from politically charged personal posts. The only type of political articles I typically care to read are those that are written in the style of traditional journalism - without bias or opinion. I also don't care to share my political views on social media often; I don't want to get into e-arguments, but mostly I don't want to be judged or perceived incorrectly based on my views. So what I'll write instead are my observations on others' politics, instead of the actual politics themselves.

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."-Thomas Jefferson

I love that Jefferson quote. It rings so true to me. But it seems with social media, fewer and fewer are subscribed to this style of thinking. I'm seeing a sharp incline of posts that sound something like, "If you don't support insert-political-issue-here then you can go ahead and delete me now," or "If you are voting for Trump-and-or-Hillary, we can't be friends."

Mind you, these are not satirical posts (which do exist but are not what I'm referencing). These posts are written by the steadfast and the angry. Entering any given comments' sections on a viral video is like entering virtual warfare. What's worse is I don't see many people at all engaging in intellectually stimulating or challenging debates. I see people who are quick to tear each other down, to insult and to mercilessly rip their opponent to shreds.

I see people who are so convicted (and often rightfully so) that they forget the person opposite them... is just that. A person.

There is a slight silver lining in all of this heated opposition. The silver lining is that ultimately, we all want the same thing. We all want to be happy. We all want to be free. We all want to be safe. We all genuinely want what any beauty pageant contestant could have told you...

I know that sounds barf-ishly optimistic, and I'm not saying we can achieve world peace just by wanting it or by agreeing that it's what we want. (I am suggesting that if it were possible, we start on a national level first.) But truthfully, I'm just stating the fact: peace is what we want. None of us are happy when we are at each others' throats. Whatever political party you belong to, you're likely feeling largely unhappy with the current state of the country. We want to get along. (And of course, there are exceptions to each rule. Some people really are just callous.)

And it seems to me that in our ultimate quest for peace and happiness, we all seem to be missing a key ingredient. We cannot spread love and compassion without forgiveness. It. Is. Impossible.

You cannot have a happy heart while you've got a portion of it holding onto hate and anger. It will eat you from the inside. It will create a cynical and bitter shell. You'll start believing things like... all cops want to kill black people. All black people are criminals. All white people are racist. All men are irresponsible pigs. All women are sluts.

And of those stereotypes listed above, what has believing anything like that ever gotten us? Thinking like that is why too many innocent people have been killed. It's why men have a hard time a hard time in custody battles. It's why women are raped.

Let me ask a hypothetical question... If I throw a punch, and you throw one back, who is supposed to stop? In a real life situation, the answer seems pretty obvious, right? I just punched you for no reason, so heck yeah you're going to punch back, and why would you quit punching me? The reality is we'd just keep punching until someone is really hurt and can't anymore.

So quickly, you're not caring if I'm hurting - I hurt you, and you want revenge. I'm not saying I don't understand it - that's human nature. As a nation, not only are we hurt, but we're in a cyclical desire for revenge.

To be fair, I know (very few) people who actually wouldn't punch back, but as a country, we're swinging. And it seems that as soon as we're given the opportunity... man, we just can't wait to get back in the ring. We want there to be a clear winner and a clear loser. We don't want to walk away and say, "I forgive you." We don't want to give the person who swung first the satisfaction of thinking they've won.

Forgiveness is a tool that should be used to guard your own hearts, your own lives, your children's lives. It is NOT, I repeat, forgiveness is NOT about the person you are forgiving. You may feel like you're letting them off the hook - but it's not about them.

You are saving yourself from the torture brought to you by anger and hate. You don't even have to associate with people you've forgiven. You are allowed to guard your heart and spirit. In fact, it's not even necessary to let them know you've forgiven them unless asked.

I'm not saying we can't be hurt or angry when an injustice happens. Or that we can't be frustrated when our fellow citizens don't see the bigger picture the same way we do. But I'm saying we can't hold on. We need to move forward, we need to be kind, we need to forgive.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." - Ghandi

Be strong, y'all. Be strong.

(For the record, I am in NO WAY I'm just some totally-loving-perfect person... I certainly strive to be, but it's difficult. I personally attribute my faith in God to be what allows me to even semi-accomplish this. I know that not everyone believes in God, and I'd hope this still positively affects those of you who do not.)