With the Presidential 2016 race and the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, people have found themselves having heated discussions with friends and family over social media or family dinner. All over social media, people are posting how they feel about President Trump and his policies and attacking anyone who does not agree with them.

Social media has is made it a lot easier for everyone to share their views and opinion on certain candidates, issues, or policies. And that is wonderful. Everyone should be informed and engaged with what is occurring in our country. What is not wonderful? Attacking and criticizing those who oppose your beliefs. There is no need to be cruel to each other and delete or unfollow each other from social media.

Everyone was brought up differently. Everyone is entitled to believe and support whatever they want. Having friends who have opposing views from yours is necessary. Your beliefs are supposed to be challenged, this helps you grow as a person. So next time you find yourself about to comment on someone’s post, stop and take a moment. Ask yourself why this person might support that issue or cause. What happened in their life that shaped their beliefs to be conservative or liberal?

Let those posts that irritate and infuriate you, challenge and reaffirm your beliefs. Let yourself be educated by those posts. Get to learn what your friends and family really believe. Do not just generalize them as a conservative or liberal. People are so much more than that. Respect people who are different from you. And most importantly, agree to disagree.