At what point did it stop becoming okay to have a different opinion in our country? I just finished reading the newspaper and yet again, having a different point of view quickly degraded into personal attacks by both parties. We have become the hyper-sensitive generation who can’t seem to tolerate a perspective that is different from our own. A democratic culture is supposed to foster an environment of healthy debate which hopefully leads to the best possible outcomes for the majority of people. It is through exchanging wide-ranging ideas, striving to uncover the facts and challenging status quo thinking that we move forward as a nation. Debate is a good thing! And guess what, no one party or individual has the market cornered on good ideas. Your side won’t always win the argument or election and that is how it should be. And, if you always tow the party line you are an ideologue not a free thinker.