thelesbianlifestyle.com

Our freedom of speech is an all important thing, especially in this day and age, but it seems that some groups want it to apply only to them and not to others.  You see this everywhere, between church and state, liberal and conservative, gay and straight, name two groups and I guarantee that they believe what they say is right and they would prefer that their opponents be silenced.  Sometimes what the opposition says is truly horrible but I would still believe in their right to say it.  In my life I go searching for articles and viewpoints that oppose mine.  I believe that only when you have both sides to an argument that you can truly make an informed decision.  This is not to say that I am swayed in reading the opposition but that I believe that knowledge of it is important.

My belief in these principles was reaffirmed by my last post on this blog and the many comments that were left on it.  One of the issues that came up was that there was a great disbelief that a lesbian could express views such as mine.  I get that, my beliefs fall more into the conservative world view in the general sense.  My life was obviously different, I grew up on a ranch fixing fences and shooting guns and I still to this day profess little desire to join the gay/lesbian community as a whole.  I certainly don’t hate the community just I don’t really need it in my life as of yet.  I don’t know if that makes sense but I’m still only 24 and readily admit to still forming/changing parts of my identity.  Maybe the community will be more important to me in later years, I don’t know.

I didn’t write the post with the intent to insult or offend, it was just my and my classmates opinion on Obama, gun rights and gay rights.  I honestly thought that people might be intrigued or interested in the train of thought but little else.  I don’t know, perhaps I labor under the illusion that everyone reads or listens to the other side of things.  Hell, I’ll read any one’s opinion.  Left wing, right wing, black separatist, white separatist, extremist and moderate views on religion, pro gay, anti gay, pro feminist, anti feminist, it don’t matter.  I believe in the validity of every one’s argument and in their ultimate right to say it.  I think that anyone who says that they, whoever they may be, has no right to say those things is a bigot.  And I mean bigot as in a bigot (in modern usage) is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from their own.

My belief is that we should listen to the other side’s argument at least once, even if it is to only reaffirm our own beliefs and practices.  If we only ever eat, sleep and breathe our own conceptions then we have not truly done service to our own intelligence.  We have cheated ourselves of the whole story and in doing so we are one sided constructs unable to truly think as individuals.

Besides, I have known many, many people who’s views do not jive with my own.  I have had many an interesting and fulfilling conversation with such people and have walked away more knowledgeable.  Face it, God loves great variety and I think we as human beings should too.  Life would be pretty boring otherwise.