That said, the inherent danger in never allowing yourself to see the other side, or at least empathize with the person from whom it's coming, is you might find it difficult to later feel the compassion your heart needs to make the necessary connections to causes outside of your own.
I struggle daily with my ability to see the other side of the coin because I have made it my personal goal to be strong in my beliefs and not allow the outside world to twist or manipulate those ideals in any way. However, by that same token, I also know that I should not allow my beliefs to be so pervasive that I fail to understand the beliefs of others. I know the golden rule of life—or at least as it pertains to my life—'as easily as that can be one person's plight, it could be mine also'.
Keeping the latter in mind, I treat everyone with the same level of respect that I would want for myself. It's only fair. We don't have to agree to have an intelligent conversation, we just need to understand that we each come to the table with our own theory of what's best.
To live life in the middle can be a good thing, but don't go overboard. Have convictions of your own and remain open to the discussions of those who hold the opposite point of view. Your life has to be about something more than just nodding your head in agreement with every new idea you are given. Find your truth and let it guide your life.
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