Educated Opinions

Empathy for the Opposition Webster's dictionary defines empathy in the following manner [1] : "the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner" Have you ever had a strong feeling about a particular issue? Are you so convinced that your stance is the correct one and you wonder how it is not obvious to the person who opposes you? Well, guess what...that is exactly how the opposition feels. Chances are, while you are providing the opposition with your well-thought-out argument, they are tuning you out and waiting for their turn to begin speaking. We have all done it. We want to save that poor soul from their ignorance; show them the light! Or worse, you get the person who does not want to let you chime, refusing to even consider anyth

NFL protests of the National Anthem  |   by a "privileged" white guy #TakeAKnee  As I prepared to watch my first NFL game of the season, I wondered if the protest against our nation's national anthem was going to continue. You know, the one intended to shine light on the injustice people of color suffer on a daily basis. It is continuing, but it is not going as the players hoped it would. Although players have stated that their protests have nothing to do with service members, U.S. citizens are still angry. Look at any Facebook post referencing the protests and in the comments section you are bound to see "that is offensive to our veterans" or "they are spitting on the flag" in as many variations as there are stars in the sky. To be clear, the protests, which are against the National Anthem and consequently the US flag,  are certainly offensive to our veterans and our nation, regardless of their intentions. Social media personalities have taken to