Aubrey+L’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2017

Ninth time’s the charm I guess because that’s how many topics I’ve already tried to write about. *Disclaimer* Let me just tell you there will be a trigger warning. I’m going to mention politics but just be chill about it because I’m not going to talk about my political points of view. I won’t go into issues like abortion, gays rights, or the presidential campaign, so don’t check out or dismiss my speech just because I talk about politics. My speech is going to be short and has one simple point.

Over the last few years, my mindset about politics and other people’s views has changed. I’m an extremely stubborn person who loves to argue so sometimes it would be hard for me to listen to what others had to say, especially if their beliefs contradicted mine. Now I see differently. I know that it’s important to respect the beliefs of others and that everyone’s opinion matters, even if you don’t agree with what someone says.

A few months ago we had the muckraker assignment. I did mine about freedom of speech, which now that I read it again came off a little harsh, but Fitz did tell us to use strong diction and not to hold back. After it was posted I was asked by someone from journalism if they could interview me for an opinion piece. I said yes, and I don’t regret doing it, but it made me see a deeper rooted problem within our school. The article was about my more conservative point of view. I’m in the minority at Foothill since it’s obviously a more liberal school. I didn’t get any backlash about being in the article, and many teachers actually approached me about it and said it was cool that I felt comfortable sharing what I believed in. So in actuality, I never had any face to face problems with being in the article, the problem was what I saw in the comments. A few days after the piece was posted, I decided to read some of the comments. The first comment I saw discouraged me. As I stared at my screen, one line in the comment kept going through my mind, “ it’s very good that they feel ashamed at Foothill.” I couldn't believe that someone would actually say that. After that, I just tried to forgot about the article and go on with my life. One person wasn’t going to change what I believe.

Fast forward a few weeks and once more I found myself on the Foothill Dragon Press page. I saw that a few more people commented so I decided to read them. What’s the worst that can happen, right? A few of the comments were rather neutral and just said that we should accept all people and their opinions. Then once again I found another shocking comment. This comment was in response to the first comment. At first, the person, let’s call them Joe, only replied to the comment. They weren’t super harsh until they decided to throw down in a separate comment. “Joe’s” first sentence was, “Why should intolerant, narrow-minded filth like you be allowed to attend at Foothill?” Once again I was shocked. This article was supposed to be about making people feel free to voice their opinions, not feel like they will be told to leave if they say something you don’t agree with. Later on, Joe goes on to say, “Maybe it’s you. Maybe you should feel ashamed, and maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to be here any longer.” Even though Joe was trying to defend my beliefs, he went too far. He tried to alienate that person and make them feel unwanted at Foothill.

So the moral of my very long story is this, I want to grow up in an America where all opinions are respected. I want to grow up in an America where people can feel free to talk about their beliefs and not get shut down. Whether you are conservative or liberal, a majority or a minority, you should be able to believe in what you want. You shouldn’t have to fear what others are going to think of you. In the end, discussing our contrasting beliefs can actually help us grow and become a more civilized and accepting country. But if we want to live in a respectful country where all people are accepted, we need to start small. First, we have to work on it in our own school because I know I’m not the only one who wants to go to a school where no matter who you are your voice is respected. Commenting that someone “shouldn't be allowed at school” because they believe differently than you isn’t going to change what they believe. You might as well try to learn something from that person and listen what they have to say. Whether it’s a political or religious belief, respect all people, because I know you want the same respect in return.