Point/Counterpoint

Point: We Need to Stop Judging People and Embrace Alternative Lifestyles.
By Lance McGay, Alternativist.

I'm writing about an issue that is very important to me and close to my heart. That may be why I feel so passionately about this, but I ask you to be patient with me, because this is important to you too. The issue of which I speak is that of judgementalism and life choices.

Now, society as a whole has made much progress in this matter, but we still have a long, long way to go. There are certain segments of society which refuse to grow up. They refuse to embrace the reality of the world in which we live. They fear those who are different and judge them to be inferior. Now, this kind of thought is dangerous on its own, but some feel compelled to take it further. They try to make their ideas into law. They force their antiquated beliefs onto others. They enforce conformity to their misbegotten values.

I say we need to change this dangerous and destructive thought. We should embrace those who differ from us. We should not judge those who are different as wrong. Just because we don't agree with something someone says or does doesn't mean we should treat that person as a half-person or force them to agree with our opinions.

Now, I'm not trying to change anyone's own personal values. It is your secular humanism-given right to believe whatever you want. But you need to keep in mind that it is everyone else's right as well. Just as you have the right to think and do what you think is good, so do others have the right to think and do what they believe is good, even if it differs from your personal values of the universe. Likewise, even if you are personally opposed to something and believe it is wrong that doesn't mean that you should force someone else to hold your same belief and keep them from doing it.

In conclusion, we need to realize that each and every person should be the master of his own destiny and no one should be forced to conform to an idea that is not his own.


Counterpoint: Sure, Sure. That's What They All Say until They Find Out I'm a Serial Killer.
By Jack D. Manson, Serial Killer.

Let me start by saying I agree whole-heartedly with what my esteemed colleague just said. Every word of it. However, I don't believe he does.

More and more, I'm encountering people like him in this day and age. People who talk about how open they are and how accepting they are of people who are different from themselves. But you know what? They're all the same. They all talk about how enlightened they are, but they're biased against those who don't hold their beliefs, just like everyone else.

People like me have always been looked down upon and judged as evil by the rest of society. Just because we conduct our lives differently and make choices about how we live that they don't think are good choices, we are shunned and made to be outcasts. Do you know that those like me, who choose not to lie to ourselves about who we are and live life as we think is right are actually thrown in jail for it? Even in some of the most "progressive" countries in Europe, we're treated as blights upon society. And devil forbid that you should try to exercise your lifestyle choices in the "good old" USA. Most likely, they'll kill you for it.

For a while, I thought that with the changing cultural tides, people would finally accept me for who I was instead of trying to force me to be someone I'm not. I began to hear the call to "embrace diversity" and welcome people of different backgrounds. But I slowly learned that it was all a lie. Just a feel-good tactic so people could convince themselves that they weren't narrow-minded and ease their consciences. In the end, it left me more disheartened than ever. I question if society will ever be able to accept me for who I am.

In conclusion, look around you. Try to get past your own cultural-instilled biases and accept and love each person around you, no matter who they are or what they choose to do in their lives, even if they are slaughtering babies and dining on the flesh. Because you wouldn't want that person to judge you, would you?