Respecting Beliefs

You hear it all the time.  "respect my beliefs!"  you've all heard that phrase repeatedly right?  When is it usually said?  Usually anytime that you disagree with someone's beliefs and they don't really want to talk about it anymore. I say fuck that phrase.  No belief demands respect by default.  Nor should it ever be so concrete that it ever demands respect.  I respect that you have the right to believe whatever you want, and that is very important.  However, the beliefs that we hold, individually, should be tested and challenged constantly.  "But I don't know enough about the intricacies to defend it".  Fair point, but then again maybe you shouldn't espouse it as a belief then if that is the case.  If you can't pose a justified reason as to why your belief is true, then you probably shouldn't hold it as a belief.  If you don't know, just say you don't know.  There is no shame in that, and it is far more honest of a position.  Just because you only feel comfortable scratching the surface of a topic and then espousing a belief from it does not mean that everyone else around you who DOES actually dig deeper, and actually DOES care about finding the truth should let you just spout off bullshit.  If someone else has done the work to dig their heels in and come up with a valid response as to why you're wrong, they have every right to tell you why they think so.  You aren't required to change your belief.  Of course not.  Do what you want with the information you have been given.  But don't you dare demand that just because you want to remain in ignorance that no one else can challenge your shitty attempts at fact finding, and even more so, don't you dare demand that someone else respect your beliefs just because they are your beliefs.  Truth and fact finding will progress with or without you.

This ideology applies across all areas of discourse.  From politics, to health care, to religion, to pop culture, and everything else in between that I don't have time to list explicitly.  You have every right to believe that vaccines cause autism and that you shouldn't vaccinate your kids.  You can believe that the earth is flat.  You can believe that the moon is made of cheese.  You can believe that the holocaust never happened.  You can believe that the world is run by the Illuminati.  All of these things and more, you are free to believe.  That is your right as an American and as a human being.  My point is simply that people should respect the fact that you have this freedom to believe what you want.  But simply because you believe these things, does not mean that when you start spouting off about any of them being true that I, or anyone else, has to just take a passive role and respond with "oh, well, ya know, that's one view and I respect that".  I say no.  Those thoughts should be put to the test, and it is everyone's right to openly state "I think that is incorrect, and here is why..."  without being assaulted or guilted into submission.  Free thought and inquiry must remain at the forefront of our discourse at all times.  So no, beliefs are not to be respected at face value.  Your rights to believe what you want should be respected, but the beliefs themselves should be open to criticism and open skepticism at all times.