I was scrolling through the Christian blogs a couple days ago, and when you do that, you need to realize there are many anti-Christian blogs. That’s fair; it’s a relevant tag. I saw one that had some decent arguments against Christianity, or at least I could see why this person believed what they did. Well-reasoned, well-written, and no stones were thrown. Kudos!

But then there was another. Long story short, they were offended because there were Christians in public. Seriously, all it took was recognizing that there were Christians nearby and this person went on a tirade about how appalling it was and how they should be ashamed and how Congress should erect laws against that.

Really? That’s what offended you? Their presence?

Isn’t that discrimination?

But okay, let’s be fair! Also on the Christian blogroll, there are some posts I’ve seen that instruct Christians on how to be neighborly, how to reach out to non-Christians around you, not to be preachy, but just to be friendly and how to really love people.

Then there are blogs where someone sees a homosexual man sipping coffee at Starbucks and immediately they start spouting off about how they shouldn’t be allowed in public and how Starbucks sells gay coffee and they had to get up and leave because they couldn’t support and institution that allowed gays in their door.

Is that really all it takes to set you off? Their presence? Isn’t that homophobic?

And it goes far beyond religion.

I knew a young woman who was literally horrified at the thought of being Republican. I’ve seen people go red in the face over even imagining a Mexican north of the border, legal or not. I’ve known women who get their knickers in a bunch whenever a man walks by because “he’s the oppressor.”

Everyone is offended by everybody. But when you look at so many of these issues, when you really boil them down, you see a truly disturbing trend. What did those people do? What did those Christians do in the above example? What did that gay man do in the one below it? What did any of these people do that caused such tremendous offense?

Simple. They were within eyesight.

That’s it. They were noticed. They didn’t do or say a single thing, yet someone got offended. Their very existence makes our skin crawl; the fact that they believe what they believe in the public forum pierces our souls and fills us with dread terror. There are two reasons for this and they’re both equally stupid.

The first is discrimination, and it’s truly the bottom of the barrel. They’ve done nothing, yet we consider their very existence a black mark on the world’s surface. Our heartbeats rise, our blood boils, and our minds lock up in catatonic shock because someone said, “I am what I am…I believe what I believe…I think what I think. I’m a Christian. I’m Muslim. I’m an atheist. I’m gay. I’m Democrat/Republican.”

Do any of those phrases light your fire? Do you feel offended at the mere mention of those words?

But sometimes they are offensive, slinging verbal assaults at what someone else believes. But instead of being adults about it, we flip out, calling for legal action, punishment against discrimination, and freedom to be what we are.

That’s stupid mindset number two: we want a world free of the tiniest injury, and trust me, most of these are tiny.

We’re a people of paper-thin skin with no real problems, so we magnify the little things. We think every word that counters our belief is aimed to obliterate us personally. Everyone who says a negative word towards us is an oppressor trying to crush us into the ground. Does it ever occur to us that this is a nation of mixed beliefs? That some people aren’t trying to destroy us, but just trying to live out what they believe?

Must we cry murder over every little scrape? Or can we apply a bandage and learn to take a hit? 

And what really makes me sad is that someone is offended by this post, hence the title. Someone is angry at me for “trying to remove their freedom of speech.” I’m not trying to remove it; I’m trying to help you use it.

And remember: when you clamor for the right to believe what you wish, say what you wish, and act how you wish, don’t be surprised if your opponent receives the same benefits.

Or did you just want those rights for yourself?