It's a shame though that some of the most worthwhile topics are often so hard to discuss because people freak out when someone doesn't share theire views/beliefs.

I like how you word this: a level of independent thought that some people are never given the opportunity to reach, because that's a good reminder that some people indeed just never have the chance to develop their full potentials. It's even sadder when people do get that chance, but prefer to keep their heads in their asses so they don't have to think. Some of the people I met in Uni were so stupid they made my eyes bleed, and still they managed to get their degree, even without ever having had one original thought in their lives.