When turning on the TV, or firing up one's internet browser, or taking a peek at an increasingly more gaunt newspaper headline, and it becomes very quickly apparent that we face a plethora of rather significant problems. One out of every six American citizens lacks "proper" healthcare, our current economic woes are second only to the Great Depression, American Muscle is going bankrupt, the "War" of the War on Drugs is moving north, closer and closer to our tranquil American urban metropolii, and the culture war gains in intensity.

Conservative media outlets unleash their unadulterated rage at almost any policy enactment President Obama and his Democratic Congress put forward, lashing out on talk radio, the internet, and of course the biggest Conservative media ally, Fox News. They are content to criticize any individual, group or movement that disagrees with them, branding them as "Libs" or, at times, far far worse. Conservative politicians, such as Alan Keyes, make ridiculous comments like, quote; "Obama is a radical communist."

Liberal media outlets ignore or mock the refugees of the 2008 GOP fallout, or worse, commit the same breaches of journalistic integrity that they criticized Conservatives for during the tenure of the Bush Administration. Liberals do not have a strong presence in talk radio or on television, but they do have a strong following on the internet. Not unlike conservative media outlets, the Liberal media outlets enjoy selective hearing, and often perform interviews with individuals with a known ideological bias towards the Left (like economist Paul Krugman or George Soros).

There is a silent and sinister enemy at work here: The unwillingness to disagree, the unwillingness to listen, and the unwillingness to be wrong. It's very easy to call the atheists and gay marriage supporters "freaks" or "socialists," as easy as it is to call the religious traditional marriage supporters "bigots" and "fascists." I doubt if anyone reading this is innocent of this, we all get fired up and it's easy to jump into that realm where, clearly, our own belief is the proper one and it just doesn't make ANY sense that anyone else would feel differently. I certainly do it when I'm on my own, browsing Townhall.com or hearing Fox News, and I'm not entirely convinced that anyone doesn't.

But the fact is, there are people that feel differently. The first thing that should come to mind shouldn't be "godless" or "bigot" when we encounter such a person. It should be unspoken respect that this OTHER human being, equipped with the same brain and body, has come to a different conclusion than us. Our nation is built upon the pillar that "all men are created equal." If you take that to mean that all human beings have equal worth, then surely the opinions that come from each person have equal worth, as well.

Life experience is where where we, as equal human beings, differ. Life experience gives us our individuality, and not coincidentally, our thoughts on things (AKA opinions) - and this is where and why opinions differ. To willfully disregard the opinion of others is to willfully disregard the entirety of one's life experiences. Willfully disregarding one's opinion is saying that, to have arrived at that conclusion (whatever that conclusion may be or may be about), one has lived the "incorrect" life. To me, that's a little worse than unfair, it's downright insulting.

In a truly free country, there is no such thing as an "incorrect" life, there is only such a thing as a different life. Liberty is nothing more than a concept, but this concept is manifested in reality by simply making and carrying out decisions. These decisions, these... choices shape our character and ultimately our life.

The unwillingness to disagree, the unwillingness to listen, and the unwillingness to ever be wrong... there does come a point where one must simply be willing to respectfully disagree, to listen to the opposition with an eager mind, and to willingly alter one's position on a topic. There must come a point for the abortionist to hear the ethical arguments against abortion, as there must come a point where the conservative to hear the argument for higher taxes. With no desire whatsoever to evade controversy, there must be a point where the Atheist must read the holy texts and hear the arguments for religion, just as there must come a point where the religious must read scientific texts and hear the arguments for atheism.

Respect is the missing key here. I'm sure more Christians would be open (open ≠ embracing) to hearing, understanding, and even sympathizing with some Atheist philosophies while maintaining their faith, but calling faith "shackling chains" probably doesn't help. I'm sure more Atheists would be open to Christian philosophies while maintaining their worldview, but calling Atheism "the greatest of all evils" or insinuating that Atheists "have no morals" probably doesn't help.