The Truth and Staying where you stand.

There was a situation that I was a part of last night that was a sort of unhealthy debate about the fine line between a violation of free speech and standing up for what you believe in. This situation has weighed pretty heavily on me within the last few hours since it has happened and I've come to wonder where exactly that line lies. Growing up in a largely-Protestant town and the things I experienced through my years in high school, I came to be very open minded about many a situation. It's a funny thing, really - at college, a decent amount of my friends are practicing Catholics while at home, it is quite the opposite.

Don't get me wrong, by opposite, I mean that my friends at home are mostly Protestant Christians. And I admit it - I don't really care what your religion is, if you even have one at all. It is an important thing to me in certain situations, but there are more things to friendship than that. I have always thought that I can be a catalyst in some form - if I am not meant to bring someone to God (if they aren't there already) then I can just love in the Christian way and hope that they see it and respect it for what it is. And who knows - maybe they will learn to do the same in the process.

Of course, you see the clear differences between beliefs in doing so, and diversity is a good thing. It's respectable to be worldly-wise in that sense. I have the utmost respect for people who can have a conversation with anyone they want to, open-minded and without judgment from either party. It shows that kind of compassion and love that we as Christians are taught to have.

In the course of my life, I have learned (and was taught by my parents, of course) to be respectful of everyone. And for me, I am usually respectful of people I meet unless I am given a reason not to be respectful. When you show no respect for me, I as a result will have no respect for you. 

Debates have also been hard for me over the years. At first I would just get upset and just avoid it at any rate. Usually because no one really challenged my beliefs or challenged my opinions before. But being in situations where discussion was inevitable (my high school Psychology class or my Seminar in Composition class, for example) I was able to go from saying "That's stupid." to "I don't really agree with what you're saying, and here is why." 

I suppose I should start getting to my point and stop trying to explain where I am coming from. It will all make sense at the end, I promise.

Basically, throughout my life I have come to respect people while politely being able to disagree with something I don't stand for. I'm not a pushover - I just don't take part in anything that I don't believe in. In situations where there is an event that is promoting something that I do not stand for, then I simply do not take part. It's something we all naturally do - an Atheist is not going to go to seminary. Someone who is pro-life is not going to apply for a job at an abortion clinic. Right? It's simple logic. And that, in a sense, is where I show where I stand. I don't believe in expressing my opinion in such a way that it comes off as pushy and closed minded, especially in a situation where it is not welcomed. Besides, it just isn't who I am.

So then how do I express "The Truth," as we are meant to do? It is like I said above - we are judged by how we act towards others and towards ourselves. When we have that kind of self awareness that we know where we stand in situations then we can show others through the way we act. And, also like I said, through love and compassion for everyone that I care for. Show the truth by being an example. When we model a certain behavior, people will reciprocate it. When we are caring and understanding for others, they will give us care and understanding in return. When we are harsh, they will reciprocate. 

Something that has been on my mind lately is a topic we discussed in my Social Psychology class. It is called "Confirmation bias." Basically, when we believe in something, we will find more information to show that it is true without ever really looking at the other side. I know to take most things like this with a grain of salt, because we will not always do things like this to a huge degree, but it's made me question whether or not we can really change someone's mind about something. Since we naturally look for information that shows us truth in what we believe, who's to say that someone of an opposing view hasn't done the same? But that discussion is probably for a different post, since I think this one has gone on long enough.