Pedro Báez
For as long as I can remember, there have always been differences of opinion. From Politics, Sports, Religion, you name it, it’s always been there.
For example, as a kid it was always about sports. In New York it was who’s the better outfielder, Mantle, Mays, or Snider.
We each had our opinion, and nobody got shot.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk raises the question. “When Will These Heinous Acts End?
They will end when people realize that each of us has an opinion and it must be respected.
In the fall of 1967, I was in my senior year at Long Island City HS. I had gotten involved in the Anti-War movement and two of my friends as they were known then, Bari Irene Dinnerstein and Caryn Spector, wanted to start a Peace club. They had a faculty advisor, Jerald Reinstein and his wife, Mrs. Reinstein. They went to our principal, Dr. Howard Hurwitz to obtain his permission to have it on campus.
At first, he refused to allow it. His argument was it too radical to have such an organization in the school and it would cause dissention. So, a compromise was reached. Instead of calling it The Vietnam Peace Group, we settled on The Vietnam Discussion Group. When Mr. Reinstein informed Dr. Hurwitz of this, he approved it and we were able to meet on school grounds.
Most of us were anti-war, however we had one member of our group who wasn’t. His name was Gus Despot. Gus was for the war because he believed that then-President Lyndon Baines Johnson was correct in sending American troops to contain communism. Our position was if that was the case, then let the Vietnamese fight themselves. It was their civil war not ours. We didn’t have any outside troops during our War between the States.
While we disagreed, we didn’t become disagreeable and no one never, ever thought of shooting Gus because he had a different opinion.
So, what has happened since 1967?
There has been advances in communication. Back then we only had three (3) television networks that gave us the national news, CBS, NBC, and ABC. The news came on during the dinner hour and many of watched it while we ate and we would sometimes discuss what we saw with each other. We had opinions and no one had a gun shot to worry about in their future for differing opinions. That was what America used to be about.
Difference of opinion.
Now with social media, the very same platform that I’m utilizing, opinions come at you at supersonic speed and some of us become rigid in our thoughts and we want to suppress those who differ with us.
If there was ever a time to awaken it’s now. While I disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s opinions, I agreed with his right to express them. It’s called the First Amendment of the US Constitution. I’ve always defended it and do so every time I recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
We need to accept opinions, people, and faiths that are different from our own.
This country was founded on freedom.
Pedro Baez is a writer and political activist.