It's cool to be you.

I've been wanting to write this blog for a while now, but I wasn't quite sure how to frame it. But on my way in to work this morning while listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN, my thoughts starting to fall into place.

You see, there was some debate going on between Mike and Mike about what Superbowl wins mean to your legacy. Without going too far into the argument, Mike Greenberg claimed that having a 4-2 record in the Superbowl was better than having a 4-0 record. He claimed that having made it to the championship game six times and having lost two of those is better than having only gone four times. Mike Golic claimed that being able to say that you are undefeated in the Superbowl gives you more clout than having lost two.

The argument is neither here nor there. I really could care less about this topic. But what came next surprised me.

Greenberg then claimed that anyone with Golic's point of view is "an idiot".

First, is this really a topic to get so heated about that you call someone an idiot if they do not believe what you believe?

Second, and much more important, name calling for not having the same beliefs as someone else has become so mainstream and so common in this country, I really am not surprised at all at the outcome of this argument.

It happens all the time. When Phil Robertson was under scrutiny for what he said in a GQ article, the hate speak was so bad, it forced his employer to have him lose his job. (But then give it back.)

He was an idiot, ignorant, bigot, old-fashioned, too religious, etc.

It happened when Justine Sacco tweeted racially-themed message via her Twitter account and became the target of a worldwide witch hunt.

She was racist, stupid, her actions unforgivable.

It happened when Richard Sherman screamed into the camera after he made the game winning play to put his team into the Superbowl.

He was a thug, a n-----, a dumb athlete.

It happens every day in Washington, DC when the right does not agree with the left and the left does not agree with the right.

It happens when Republicans are called ignorant and anti-gay.

It happens when Democrats are called anti-life and fascists.

The problem is that this country has become divided. We are not divided on whether the Seahawks or the Broncos are going to win the Superbowl. We are not divided on whether living in the south is better because you always have sun or living in the north is better because you have four seasons.

We are divided on hot button issues. And wake up people, there will never come a day where everyone agrees on abortion, health care, gun control, gay marriage, etc. And that's okay.

If you are against gun control reform, you are somehow made into a cold-hearted gun lover who doesn't care if Columbine or Newton ever happened again.

If you are pro-choice, you are somehow made into a murderer.

If you are anti-gay marriage, you may as well be anti-gay.

If you are for health care reform, you are a communist.

It's everywhere. It's at my office where the word "republican" is used as sort of a swear word. It's in California where an actress lost her job in the Vagina Monologues because she supported a Tea Party member. It's in my home state of New York where the governor said there was no place for certain people with certain beliefs.

The fact of the matter is: there is a place for everyone and every belief everywhere.

Here's a thought... instead of calling names and inflicting pain at those with different beliefs than you, why not learn their story? Ask: Why do you believe these things? Where did you come to that conclusion?

And I challenge you. Instead of being stubborn and sticking to your beliefs, try and understand theirs. Try and live a day with their point of view and see if the world is different. That's not to say change your mind, you may believe whatever you want.

You do not know Phil Robertson or Justine Sacco or Richard Sherman, neither do I. The media will try and dig into their lives and do interviews with them and try to expose who they are. But you still do not know them. What they said or did was out of religious beliefs, a slip in judgment or adrenaline pumping after a big game, it does not define them as a person.

I'm tired of it being cool to be a liberal and so uncool to be a conservative. I'm tired of racism and sexism and every other -ism. I'm tired of it being just because I'm 'pro' one thing that means I'm 'anti' its opposite.

You do not need to know where I stand on social or economic issues. And look. I just wrote a blog on some of the topics and you still do not know where I stand. However, if you want to know, you can ask. I will tell you and ask you what you believe in return. It will turn into something called a conversation, which is very much not like an argument.

It's cool to be you and it's not cool to make fun of other people. No matter where you fall on the party line.