I’ve always been a huge fan of reality television. I grew up watching “Jon & Kate Plus Eight,” “Little People Big World,” “Cake Boss” and “19 Kids and Counting.” I still watch these shows and have added “Duck Dynasty” to my list. It seems like every week some star of a reality show is on every social media outlet for something they said, something they posted, or even what they think.

Most recently, Phil Robertson, patriarch of “Duck Dynasty,” made a speech at a prayer breakfast about atheists.

Of course, this sparked a major controversy and involved everyone who has a Facebook page. This isn’t the first time the Robertsons or stars of reality television shows have been ridiculed for having conservative beliefs.

The Duggars, a family with 19 kids and the stars of “19 Kids and Counting” have been under fire the past couple of months because people believe they discriminate against the LGBT community.  A petition to take the show off the air has been started by www.change.org and has about 188,000 signatures of the 500,000 they are trying to get.

The people trying to get this petition signed are influencing people far worse than the Duggars, in my opinion. They are trying to force people to adapt to their beliefs. By wanting to get the show taken off air, they are saying the Duggars are wrong and do not get to express their beliefs. This seems illogical considering the people signing the petition are basically forcing the Duggars to be silent while their views are displayed proudly for all to see.

The Duggars, like any other family on television such as “Duck Dynasty,” are allowed to have opinions. They are allowed to believe homosexuality is wrong and they’re allowed to express those opinions on television or social media. Just because the Duggars don’t support the LGBT lifestyle does not mean they should be taken off the air.

The LGBT community is allowed to have their opinions and are allowed to express their opinions, as well. Just because the LGBT community has differing views than the Duggars does not mean the Duggars should lose their show.

Over the last few years, there has been a decreased tolerance for those with a different opinion. This has drastically altered what we see and hear each time we turn on the television. Each day, someone throws a fit because someone else has an opinion they find offensive. Where is the limit? When does it end? When is everyone going to grow up and realize how childish it is to keep limiting and censoring what we say because the opinions don’t match up?

Everyone is trying to become more open, more accepting, but really, we’re being conditioned to have a view that offends no one, and really not even have an opinion. As Americans, we have freedom of speech, religion and press. Part of what makes us a “melting pot” is our different backgrounds and different views.

We should be allowed to openly express our opinions without being shut down by someone of a different viewpoint. It is possible to have a civil discussion without pulling the victim card.

You can have your beliefs and I can have mine, but you don’t need to interfere with my television schedule simply because a family has Biblical beliefs that differ from yours.

To contact Lauren Daniel, email onlineeditor@occc.edu