To stay steadfast on one's own beliefs, is to give themselves a strong footing. It's a foundation that keeps you grounded. Often when everything else wrecks your world apart by the tremors that take you by surprise, it keeps your sanity intact and acts as a guide.
But to stay firm on these stances is acceptable when they aren't detrimental to others. For that to be apparent it is essential to open yourself to ideals that contrast, contradict or build upon your own. It is essential to both be clear about your own and listen to others with a calm mind. To surely firmly believe in your own and yet be fluid enough to ponder upon the others.
And that is exactly what we lack as a society and as a global community. From religion to political ideals, to historical perspectives to predictions of the future, to gender norms and identity to sensuality and sexuality, to deep-rooted and engrained values to the concepts of the ever-changing modern world.
We see extremes and rigidity or the lack of any sort of strong association with any ideal and an unusual level of eagerness to merge and camouflage into every dominant ideal. We as individuals either refrain from having any sort of position on these topics or are tough to even convince to view things differently.
And above all we have this lust of forcing upon others what we think is right. In this battle of discerning and declaring right and wrong we forget the basic ethics of all religions, cultures and social settings, to invite and/or englighten others but to not force upon them our own perspectives.
We have perplexed concepts of respecting and supporting each other where we believe these two translate into immediately letting your guard down and blindly adapting to whatever the other individual, group or ideology has to say. When in truth to respect is to merely acknowledge the fact that another perspective exists and even if we may not share the same, we can accept the fact that it has the right to coexist with our own. And to support? Well often many of these perspectives belong to two major categories, the absolute majority or the absolute minority. In the case of a minority, it is often subjected to oppression and it's believers are indirectly or directly, with force or without it, pushed towards adopting the majority's perspective instead. The believers of the minority's viewpoint are exposed to an uncomfortable setting wherein even their safety and security can be at risk. Thus to support them is not to adopt their perspective but to recognize their right to have their own, to understand and express that even if it contradicts yours, you are open to accept that as another human being they are entitled to be different, no matter how drastically different their view may be from yours. To respect and support is often misinterpreted as a sign of weakness where you are ready to put aside your point of view and accept the other's, when instead it is a sign of strength where you are sane enough to firmly stand by your own and yet let the others stick to their's.
When it comes to rather controversial issues such as religion, the matter just becomes worse. Enough that the majority of us who have firm beliefs but respect and support others are afraid to voice that opinion. If I believe in Allah/God but you believe in Lord Shiva and I respect and support you because you are entitled to have a different belief from mine, that doesn't mean I'm letting go off my own. It means I just understand we can coexist without badmouthing each other's beliefs. If I believe in a more modest sense of style but I also respect and support you not having the same standard, that doesn't mean I will abandon my choice for yours. It just means I accept you as a different individual. If my definition of a relationship and who and how to fall in love are one dimensional whereas yours includes a broader understanding, that does not mean I'm changing my personal approach about relationships or sexuality. It just means I am understanding that you have the right to have your own.
It is often the definitions of right vs. wrong and detrimental that create havoc when it comes to these controversial topics. But what we need to understand is that is, what's right for me, may be wrong for you and what's wrong for you may be right for me. Our understandings are personalized and subjective. Thus it is better not to reject the idea of independent views because we believe we are right or the other is wrong. It is best to only stand up against something when it physically or mentally harms either one of us or others directly or indirectly and this conclusion is drawn through rational understanding, not motivated by personal biases.
As for the concept of inviting or enlightening another about our own, probably the best and most sane way out there is to be the best version of yourself. What you apply to yourself and what impact it can have is visible to everyone, thus if they feel more inclined towards your beliefs they will willingly lean in after putting a thought into everything and without you having to do anything. Even if you deem spreading the word your duty, silence can do it in a far better way. If you still choose to speak up instead then understand that you can always choose to peacefully do so without attacking and offending anyone directly. I just shared my perspective about acceptance and neutrality above without pinpointing at any individual and/or belief/belief system. You can choose to do the same with any viewpoint. Just remember, to utter is your choice. To listen, understand or accept is the other person's. Don't cross that line. Make your choices and let others make their own.
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