The human being is a fragile specimen, subject to the prying hands of time. Our bodies endure much wear and tear: weather, injuries, inopportune falls. Bruises lay over the fine canvas of our skin, fading one day and returning the next. In enough time, should you allow such bruises to fester, they consume your existence.
America itself is a bruise-ridden canvas. Haunted by a tremulous history, America still manages to maintain its image as the land of the free and the just.
Any opinion, any race and any ethnicity is heartily welcomed in America — except when it isn't.
In recent years, America has become less accepting of new ideas and traditions. When an opinion is voiced — should it not coincide with the shrapnel that whirls through the media — it is ridiculed.
Has our skin worn so thin? Why? What in our history has allowed our sentiments to convolute the liberties of other citizens?
Any trek across campus or a rendezvous in Starbucks can open the mind to any sort of political ramblings. Donald Trump is a tyrant; Hillary Clinton is a fraud. Any minority indirectly exploited in recent media is met with outrage. America has become so sensitive to recent issues and political correctness that it has forgotten the crux of the American identity.
I find myself tiptoeing around campus, mindful of my own rhetoric. While holding your tongue is an excellent show of restraint, it does not do well to hold in opinions in an environment where they should be freely expressed. This is college — a time of emergence and freedom. Why should I hesitate when stating my opinion if I feel it’s significant?
Wholly, our country needs to re-examine the principles that define America.
If it were not for radical opinions, we would not be the prosperous entity we are today. Embracing all ideas is something to be revered. We should not flinch from defining the truth. We should relish in truth and in our right to speak it.
Lauren Smith is a UF journalism junior.
