When I think of ideological diversity, I don’t think of fringe groups on either side. I think more of having people with opposing, but still rational, viewpoints in the same area or workplace. I know that might sound silly, but take The Ringer, for instance. I don’t think anyone would argue that the Ringer’s brand is, to a large degree, millennial style liberalism. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I’m relatively liberal myself. But the site often becomes an echo chamber for like ideas. I sometimes wish that there was a little ideological diversity because debating and discussing helps you learn and grow. It’s not just political — I’d love the Ringer to hire someone who likes NCIS, thinks Kanye is an ass and that Girls is overrated. I didn’t mean to make this focused on The Ringer, but you get my point.

When I was in college, I ran the council that oversaw the clubs. One of the clubs, The Christian Fellowship, raised enough money to invite a speaker to discuss intelligent design and how the earth is only 5,000+ years old. I went to the discussion, listened and asked questions — even though I thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Today, I get the sense that kids don’t have that kind of tolerance for different view points. You can disagree — STRONGLY —but still be civil. To be fair, this is a problem facing both the right and left.

We obviously shouldn’t be arguing for equal time for neo-Nazis, KKK, or other hateful groups — and I know that’s what some mean when they say ideological diversity. But we should allow for reasonable people on the right, the left and in between to have reasonable discussions, even if it makes us uncomfortable. It’s how we grow as individuals.