Live and Let Live

I've had a thought. Is it enough to say "live and let live" anymore?

This is something I've seen come up usually in the realms of controversial issues like homosexuality and gay marriage. A lot of gay people take the opinion of "I don't care what people think as long as they don't try to take my rights away".

This definitely makes sense to a degree, but I would rather have more from a 21st century society. I don't want these stupid people thinking the way they do. Live and let live is a concept that breeds hate. If you allow these people to believe these idiotic things, then it'll spread and more people will believe it.

Socrates said that ignorance leads to hate, and I have to agree with this. When people don't understand something then they tend to be critical of it. Another example of this is the current economic situation and the bailout plan currently being implemented by the United States. Many people are critical of Barack Obama, even though they don't actually understand how it works. People tend to forget that the plan was actually introduced by the Bush administration. Instead, they use something they do not understand to support their already deep-rooted opinions.

The only reason that Barack Obama is in my mind is because I was on twitter and saw some really stupid things being said about him. For example, Muammar al-Gaddafi spoke kindly of Barack Obama, and someone said "if the world's evil people like you does that say something about you?" The stupidity really hurts my head. To me, it isn't enough to have these people believing these stupid things. Something has to be done.

Yes, I want my cake and I want to eat it too. The fact is that if somebody strongly disagrees with your way of living, then it is likely will try to change it, either directly or indirectly. An example is Proposition 8 in California last year. I'm sure many gay people in California had the attitude of "live and let live" with the people who opposed gay marriage. Well in November, those people voted yes on Prop 8 and gay marriage was banned in California.

Should we just let people continue believing hateful and ridiculous things? Or should we try to educate them further and bring them round to a 21st century way of thinking?

I've made my opinion clear. Education really is the way forward.

Thanks for reading,
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