Recently, there have been promoters for safe speech in American public colleges. The philosophy of having a “Safe Space” in each campus to allow discussions on all topics and all beliefs has shown a need for a more inclusive college lifestyle, one that embodies every student that goes there.

At Texas A&M University- Commerce, there was a beach bubble ball with Sharpied words of freedom written on it. While this idea has all the ideal qualities that embody what we should be, it fails to understand the backlashes of this act and who we are as individuals.

While free speech (except for hate speech) is how the First Amendment has been interpreted for definition purposes, it does not highlight the “unspoken rule,” the rule of majority trumps minority. The reality of the situation is that we still live in a world of misunderstanding and hate it whenever certain beliefs have more credibility due to the number of followers.

All over the ball, the right to religious freedom was printed in permanent marker. But, it only read “God is great”, “God is good”, and Christian ideals. What if an atheist wrote, “God does not exist” or a Christian student wrote, “Praise God.” Or what if a die-hard Republican wrote something ridiculous like “We should build a wall.” It should not matter as long as someone is not degrading your own personal beliefs. The problem is that we deal with the thought that the majority is right. And, while acceptance is gaining popularity in our society, making it more “p.c.” (politically correct), there still are many believers of “my way or the highway”.

It can be hard understanding that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion despite conflicting beliefs. It is not something that can be fixed by writing niceties on a beach ball, but by understanding all that can go on the beach ball. It’s something that will never truly stop. The efforts on spreading the ideas of compassion are needed, not through showcasing “good old American values,” but a more educated collective of opposing ethics.

Words that make others quick to anger are others truths. It does not seem fair that we only deem one way of thinking and believing to be right.

To understand true Freedom of Speech, each individual must be willing to sacrifice a little and lend compassion to other ideals that do not belong to them.