Over seven billion people live on earth. Based on that fact alone, you are destined to meet hundreds of people on this planet throughout your lifetime that don’t agree with the way you look at the world. To the vast majority, disagreement is seen as a very bad thing. It causes hate, war, societal rifts, and the collapse of relationships and ideologies. Although this may be true, it is only because people let these things occur. Disagreements aren’t the cause of these conflicts; human emotions are. Disagreements are actually quite healthy, when conceived from individuals with mastery over their emotions. Here’s why.

Too many people today remain silent because they are afraid people will not like what they have to say or that they will be silenced for saying it. Because of this, so many opinions are lost to silence, and popular opinion reigns supreme, for better or worse. However, this is completely unhealthy. Every opinion should be challenged by another opinion. This allows ideas to improve and be perfected, people to become more confident in their beliefs and opinions, and other people to see their faults and grow from them. Having everything you know to be true challenged is one of the only ways growth can take place. Disagreement is also what makes us unique as individuals. If no opinion was challenged and everyone thought the same way, the world would soon be consumed by conformity and become quite a boring place to live. So much beauty would be lost, beauty that had previously been created by people’s differing and unique ideas about the world.

But how does someone deal with a differing opinion that greatly conflicts with their own? Well, let’s investigate that. When two individuals with complete control over their mental faculties and emotions disagree on a topic, they usually debate that topic. They go back and forth, until eventually one of three things happens: one person supplies enough credible evidence to convince the other of his or her view on the topic, they both decide to peacefully disagree on the topic, or they come to some sort of compromise that satisfies both of their opinions on the topic. This is an example of a healthy discussion. There are no harsh words spewed forth, no threats; the sole purpose of the debate is to seek some sort of solution to the problem of differing opinions. However, the part of the healthy discussion we want to focus on in particular is peaceful disagreement. Peaceful disagreement is also known quite popularly by another name: “tolerance.” Many say that only love conquers hate, but forget that both love and hate encompass many other concepts. Hate encompasses the concept of conflict and love encompasses the concept of tolerance. In order to properly love someone, you must learn to tolerate the things about them that cause conflict within you. The same goes for the rest of the world. Many religious figures and peaceful leaders call us to love our fellow man, and the love they speak of is deeply intertwined with the practice of tolerance. Otherwise, it would be impossible for everyone on earth to actually “love” one another.

However, when it comes to disagreements on issues of morality, it is acceptable to be intolerant of certain opinions. For example, most people are intolerant of the opinion that it is right to kill an innocent human being, enslave a human being, or unjustly harm an innocent human being. As long as this intolerance isn’t combined with physical or verbal violence, it is still healthy disagreement, because it drives people and society towards improvement. Most people in today’s society, unfortunately, believe that violent intolerance is a justified means of improving society, causing many of the problems you see in this country today. Although it may speed up the process by which society improves, forcing those in power to make particular decisions that drive a society in the right direction, that still does not justify the violence or make it alright.

Disagreement isn’t a bad thing. People only make it seem like a bad thing because when they let their emotions make all of their decisions, bad things tend to happen. So, don’t disagree, get mad, and try to force your opinion on another person. Disagree, accept, and tolerate that person’s unique opinion in a peaceful manner. The world will become a much happier place when you do.