Remember the old admonition...

...to "never discuss religion or politics"? You don't hear it much anymore. Have you ever wondered why?

It's because nowadays it's almost impossible to keep politics out of most discussions because our government has intruded into so many areas of our life that it's unrealistic to avoid talking about politics.

There was a time when socially aware people respected the fact that opinions on religion and politics were so important to people that most realized that no good could possibly come out of a heated discussion in a social atmosphere. You were much, much more likely to lose a friend than to change an opinion.

Life consisted of so many things that had nothing to do with politics so we could easily find relatively peaceful topics for conversation during any social get-together. But today, we can't seem to find an area of life to discuss without tossing politics into the fray. How sad for us all.

Where private citizens were once bright enough to hold our political views private in social settings, many now feel as though our views are so enlightened and those who disagree with us are, at the best, misguided and at the worst, racist, evil or just plain stupid. Far too many people take pride in espousing their political views daily and they sincerely believe that they look good while doing so and that those who disagree are so evil that the evil-thinkers must be exposed. The people who do this are so insecure that they actually feel better about themselves by pointing fingers at those who hold other views than their own. It's very easy to divide a people who ascribe to the philosophy of demonizing those who disagree and as many of us have heard, "United we stand, divided we fall."

Another axiom that has fallen by the wayside, "I may disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." In today's world, we would be more likely to get shot for holding a differing opinion from our fellow citizens than to have one defend our right to freedom of thought and expression if they differ from a fellow citizen.

This isn't happening by accident. Many divisive people are devious enough to do their best to manipulate us into factions that are easier to destroy than are a united people. Please think twice before you attack someone who has an opinion that differs from your own. If their right to disagree is taken away, your right to do the same will be next.