Thinking out loud

 I have not posted here in a long time. Life just got so busy. I guess I did not have much time to ponder on things. Or even if I did, may not have occurred to me to write it down.

Today, however, while having a conversation with a friend I got to thinking about something that always leaves me confused and unsure...

I always believe that people should respect each other's opinion and choices even if they don't make any sense to them or even if they seem ridiculous or absurd to them. I often have heated arguments with people who feel that their opinion is the correct and supreme and anything to the contrary is nonsense. If people don't respect and accept things they don't agree with, I believe there will just be intolerance, violence and dictatorship. 

Having said that, I often wonder, am I going against my own principle if I am questioning someone's right to judge someone else? What I mean is, by saying that people should not judge or be intolerant about things they disagree with, am I myself disrespecting someone's else's right to judge?

Which brings me to my next question, is there an extent to which people should have the right to make choices free of judgement? Is it ever okay to not respect someone else's opinion? For example, if someone tells me a woman belongs in the kitchen, I do mot think I will ever be able to respect that opinion. Does that make me a hypocrite?

I wonder....