The other day I was reading an article about a conservative blogger around my age who now is a correspondent for FOX News & although ideologically, she and I might have a few disagreements, I was struck by the simple fact that passion for a cause or belief is universally powerful.  

Usually, when one thinks about someone who is anti-this or pro-that (or whatever the opposite of THEIR personal beliefs are,) it’s easy to think “They must not really know anything about that subject or else clearly if they knew the truth they would believe what I do.” When reading the article (which darn it, I can’t find to link), I was incredulous about this girl–I wondered how any 20-something could really honestly ascribe themselves to certain beliefs nowadays (yes, yes, a logical fallacy I know).

But passion like that is amazing–fervency knows no political, moral, or ideological bounds. I am extremely passionate about gender equality, identity, and justice, but there are many who are just as devoted to the opposite causes (I could list many, many examples of this, but you can just imagine your own.)

It’s just an interesting thing to think about. I think so often we’re quick to make everything into a ideological war, but if we pause in our arguing and take a moment to realize, “Wow, isn’t passion amazing? Look at both of us, fighting for what we believe in,” maybe we can be a little more humane in the process. And while there are definite black and white areas of life, there’s a lot more gray than on first glance.