system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I feel MORALLY obligated to argue with those whose views I see as harmful. CMV

First of all, I believe that if you witness something harmful, and do nothing to stop it, then you are just as bad as the person who is doing the harm. Ex. You see someone being bullied and don't make any attempt to intervene - you are just as bad as the bully.

Second of all, I believe that opinions are more than just intangible thoughts floating around in somebody's head - opinions can cause tangible harm and therefore should be subject to the same intervention as actions. Ex. The opinion that same-sex marriage should be illegal leads one to vote in opposition of same-sex marriage, causing harm to same-sex couples. 

Given these two conditions, I believe that I MUST intervene when I see an objectionable, harmful opinion, or else I might as well have expressed that opinion myself. 

That being said, I *hate* arguing. Arguing is one of the least enjoyable activities I can think of and it causes me a lot of anxiety. I was physically abused by more than one authority figure during my childhood, and if the person I'm arguing with starts to sound even the least bit hostile or condescending, it always reminds me of the arguments I had with my abusers, trying to convince them not to hurt me. I know that's awfully dramatic, but it's true - I have literal flashbacks, something I can't control. If I could avoid ever arguing with anyone again and be morally okay with that, it would be a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

But I can't. NOT arguing with someone who I see as having a harmful view leads me into a pit of guilt that can stick with me for a week or more. I constantly think of myself as a monster, because I equate myself with the people I did nothing to stop, people with the most hateful, racist, homophobic, sexist, transphobic etc. views. This self-hatred is a worse pain, to me, than having to relive my child abuses, because I'd rather be a victim of evil than be evil. I have always felt this way. 

So all in all this leaves me trapped in an almost constant emotional discomfort – either I’m arguing with someone and reliving my childhood or I’m letting people get away with their harmful views and beating myself up for being a useless, evil piece of shit. Perhaps you could help to ease that pain by changing my view.
gpt
You mention that you feel obligated to verbally intervene when you hear someone saying they are against gay marriage.  you want to change them in order to help good people.  Very noble :)  however, be honest.  have you ever really changed someone's opinion about an issue like gay marriage through argument?  Do you ever really believe that our hypothetical fundie here will accept homosexuality simply because you voiced your disagreement?

Let's say the person who is against gay marriage is confronted by you, and also shares the belief that they should argue against someone who believes something harmful.  From their perspective, they likely see you as someone who is defying God and allowing sin to encompass His world in the form of homosexuality.  Of course he would argue with you.  And you would argue with him.  And neither of you would change each other.

> You see someone being bullied and don't make any attempt to 
> intervene - you are just as bad as the bully.

Intervening when someone is being bullied is different than arguing against an opinion.  When you physically or verbally intervene in an instance of  bullying, you are immediately stopping the harm being done.  When you argue against an opinion that is harmful, you are trying (and often failing) to change someone's motivation for inflicting harm.  Even if someone stops a bully from hurting someone, they haven't stopped the bully from *wanting* to hurt someone.  

Changing someone's view on a political issue like gay marriage or stopping someone from bullying is more difficult than commenting on CMV.  That's why you don't see "I think we should tax the wealthy CMV" on this sub a lot. Even when you do, no one's view is really changed.  Arguing to change someone and physically stopping harm are two very different actions that often have two different outcomes.

Standing up for what you believe is very noble, but speaking up isn't a guaranteed way to change someone.  Homophobes are harming gay people, and they will continue to harm gay people whether you openly disagree with them or not.  Don't stop fighting against people you disagree with.  But because arguing makes little significant impact, feeling obligated to fight someone every time you see their views as harmful is only going to invoke anxiety.