Thoughts from the Edge

I've been thinking a lot about the different social views everyone has. Opinions are so heated.
I feel like there is a constant war between two sides on practically everything.

For a long time, I've felt that you have to fully pick a side without reservations, or no one will accept you. Or that if you pick a side, you can't value any part of what the other "team" has to say. I've seen and felt a lot of rejection, neglection, and even ludicrous for having a certain opinion. That, somehow, what I think is always wrong, and there is no possible way that I can justify why I think the way I do, because I'm wrong and that's just the way it is.
"You're wrong, so we don't like you, and therefor anything you do or say from now on will also be wrong."
There's a lack of being empathetic towards the opposing view. This causes hurt between people.
I don't like hurting people.

This is why I try to agree with as much as I can on both sides. This doesn't mean I don't have strong beliefs, I do, and I intend to defend them if they are being threatened.
However, I will not shove my opinions down anyone's throat, post it all over social media, become defensive, comb through articles/comments and tell people why they are wrong. That just causes turmoil and there's a 99% chance you aren not going to change anyone's opinion anyway.
It's more important to make people feel like you are their friend than be right.

One of my favorite quotes: "Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding" - Bill Bullard

People are always saying, "Have an open mind!" I don't think this should necessarily be true. If you're going to be wishy-washy on everything, you won't be able to stand strong on anything and people can use you like a puppet.
The saying should be "Have a firm mind, and an open heart."

Rather than being totally on one side of the border, I think that it is okay to come to the edge to meet the other opinion. That is where compromises and unions are made. Things become more fruitful there.
One of my favorite YouTubers, Hank Green, explained this concept much better than I ever could. Hank studied ecology. He notes, that in instances where the ocean meets the land (called an ecotones), they tend to be more diverse and fruitful than either biome alone. The "edge" is a fantastic place, but it also tends to be a violent one. While there are many benefits from being able to use resources from either biome, there is also a lot more access for predators... and getting pummeled and dragged around can be exhausting. But because of the intermixing biomes, there is much larger adaptability, productivity, diversity created here. The key is to stay strong where you are, but have the ability to use the other side if you can. Here's the link if you'd like to watch what Hank has to say about the matter. (It's under 4 minutes, I highly suggest it :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WHRerf-lrw

Anyway, on a more spiritual note, in Acts chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas are praised as if they were gods... and then are heavily stoned...by the same people.
The problem is they had too open of a mind. First, they saw Paul perform a miracle and they were convinced that he was totally awesome. Then, in verse 19, it says, "And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead."
All it took was for someone to come and tell them that Paul was not awesome and they stoned him. They had no firm opinion of their own.

Now, I'm not saying you should never change your opinion. I think recognizing that original opinions were wrong can be hard. No one likes to admit they were wrong. I highly respect people who can do that. But if you truly believe and know something, stick with it! Hold fast to it! Be passionate about it!
I just beg you to not push other people away because your opinions.
I would consider myself an edge dweller. I connect well with people on both sides of the spectrum, even if my values belong on one side. I try and connect with whatever I can, even if it's small. Being on the edge allows you to learn a lot from both sides. It makes it easier to communicate to the other side without offending, but most importantly they feel like they matter.

In the words of our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important to be loved."

Don't forget to be awesome!