You Have a Right to Your Opinion, but Not the Right to Make it Everyone Else's

Well, after a busy morning, I now find myself with a little free time and so I decided to browse the net. I'm not sure why I'm amazed at what I find there. A woman in trouble with the law for tattooing her daughter, the Taliban shooting a child my daughter's age for speaking against them, and Amber Tamblyn's outside of the box wedding dress are just a few of the stories that were "trending". All of these topics are of interest to one person or another and for everyone who takes one stance on the topics, there is a person who takes the opposite stance.

The world is full of people who all think, act, and believe differently and I don't understand why society as a whole cannot accept that that is okay. Of course I'm not saying that murdering a child is right, but what I am saying is that it is okay and expected for people to have diverse ideas of right and wrong. The important thing to remember is that while you have the right to your opinions, others do as well. You won't always agree with another person's ideals, but you don't have the right to push your own ethos onto someone else.

Please don't misunderstand, I am not a moral relativist. I do believe that any act that harms another, or infringes upon their civil liberties is wrong. You can't say anything that would convince me otherwise. The simple truth of the matter is that just because I find something distasteful does not mean it is "wrong". It means I think it is wrong and that is my right, but as long as it isn't hurting anyone else how is it my right to decide how another person lives their life? Do I have the right to make vegetarians eat meat or tell meat eaters they should be vegetarian? I believe it is wrong to kill an animal unless you are protecting yourself or you intend to eat it, but do I have the right to tell someone they can't hunt or fish for sport because I believe it is wrong?

We are all caught in the trap of believing we have cornered the market on the way things should be. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a my way or the highway kind of girl at least as far as matters in my own household are concerned, but I have the right to run my house as I see fit. If something is truly unjust by the standards I have defined above, I'll be the first to speak up, but until then, unless I'm asked I'm going to mind my own business.

For the record anything publicly posted is eliciting an opinion and I will speak on it as I see fit.