We all know that these are the three topics that are supposedly the taboo ones if you want to carry on a civil conversation with your family, friends, and co-workers. Most of us have been raised to believe that in order to be cordial, we stay away from these sensitive areas. That way, we don’t run as much of a risk that we will shove Jesus or Budha down someone’s throat. We won’t argue about right-wing fanatics and left-wing liberals and we certainly won’t discuss our sexual history with a co-worker and risk getting fired for harrassment. Because all three are somewhat intertwined, we are raised to discuss things such as the weather, the environment, pop culture, and a few other things we might all be able to agree upon. And generally speaking, being raised to stay away from these topics likely helps us understand an important concept which is necessary to function in society: discretion. However… there is a “but” we all realize on some subconscious level….

The “but” I’m referring to is that while it is ideal to exercise discretion and speak without being crude, our feelings on these three topics is what makes us each unique, and different from those around us. While “individualism” is a buzzword that is thrown around in our society, it’s still a fact that each of us are unique and varied from everyone else (and therefore indivdualism is a reality). And it isn’t just because our DNA is different; we each hold views and beliefs that are not the same as the person sitting in the office or cubicle next to us. We are not clones of our parents, spouses, or children. We do not necessarily fall into line with ALL Democrats or ALL Republicans or even ALL Independents. How we feel about sex, religion, and politics, along with other life issues which come up in conversation sometimes, is what makes us who we are. Being able to have our very own opinion is why God gave us a brain. And because of our brain and ability to be unique, we all have one very important gift: free will.

We have the will to choose where we live, who we marry, how we vote, whether we vote, where we work, what kind of work we will do, what to eat, what church we do or don’t go to, and the list goes on and on. While some choices are made for us to a certain degree (sales tax, for example), we get to choose most of our decisions in life and choose them without the tyranny of a dictatorship peering and directing us from on high. The beauty of free will is quite simple but also a gift not to be taken for granted. And that beauty is this: whether you agree with your family, friends and co-workers or not, you have the free will to believe and discuss whatever you want… including sex, religion, and politics. May we be grateful for that gift this fall. As always, I look forward to your comments, whether published or not.