This is a copy of a letter I wrote to my local paper this summer, in response to a barrage of attacks on both liberals and conservatives.
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I have had enough. If there's anything that gets under my skin, it's people who are unable to respect each other. I call myself a liberal, but that does not make me evil, godless or morally deficient. I have plenty of friends who call themselves conservatives, but that does not make them evil, godless or morally deficient. Whatever happened to respect? What happened to "agree to disagree"?
This summer I worked as an orientation leader for the University of Minnesota, where I will be a junior in the fall. One of the most important messages we brought to our students was to respect each other.
The orientation leader team was made up of 24 juniors and seniors who all had different family backgrounds, different political views and different religious beliefs, to name a few. About six or seven of those 24 call themselves "very conservative" and about six or seven others call themselves "very liberal."
Yet each and everyone of us was passionate about educating all of the incoming freshman about values such as acceptance, tolerance, respect and promotion of diversity. We did this ourselves in our words and actions. I personally did not tolerate hateful or disrespectful speech from any of the students I worked with.
The way I see it, and the other 23 orientation leaders saw it, was that acceptance, tolerance, respect and promotion of diversity are essential to a successful society. I always told my students that I wasn't there to change their minds, their values. But I was there to encourage them to be respectful of others' beliefs and values, whatever they may be. Agree to disagree.
Why is that so hard for society? Both sides call each other ugly names, accuse each other of ruining America and place the blame everywhere but on themselves. To quote a play I performed in this summer as part of orientation, "It's due time we stop fighting, and time we embrace our differences." Surely, no reasonable person in this country believes that respecting each other is wrong. I hope not, or we have worse problems to deal with.
Thank God there were thousands of people just like the 24 of us on college campuses this summer, promoting these values to the incoming freshmen across the country. Perhaps with our help and example, this country will be a better place. For conservatives, liberals, moderates and everyone on the political spectrum.
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I agree because even though we might not agree with what democrats, republicans, or independents are doing on Capital Hill, in our state governments, etc. doesn't mean we can't respect each other's views, beliefs, etc.