At what point....

I have spent the past several days simply observing the way that people behave. To anyone that knows me, this isn't unusual. I am a people watcher. I like to know how people think and watch how they interact with others. It's a pure fascination to me. I love to talk to people with different viewpoints, different cultural backgrounds, different family lives, and so on. I think that learning about people makes you more open-minded to how many wonderful and different ways there are to live life.
With that being said, I have observed and continue to observe the outright character assassination that seems to be an epidemic today. For the sake of this entry, I'm going to create a fictional character that I call "Bob." Now, "Bob" has very particular opinions on politics, religions, God, and many other things. Bob meets "Fred" (another fictional character) and starts a discussion, finding very quickly that Fred's opinions are quite different from his own. The tendency I observe more and more is that Bob then launches a character assault on Fred. He attacks Fred's personal life, any mistake that he's ever made, and automatically disregards ANYTHING that Fred says. In retaliation, Fred launches a character assault on Bob and the cycle just keeps continuing on. It's an absolute epidemic.
Listen, I have very real, very researched opinions on nearly all areas of my life. Sometimes those opinions change BECAUSE of listening to people who have different opinions. Sometimes they change because of researching and really reading up on things. Sometimes my opinions become stronger because of these things. Nevertheless, whatever those opinions are, they are my opinions. I shouldn't claim that my opinions are the absolute (the very definition of opinion says that it is NOT proven fact), nor should anyone else. Differences of opinion are a beautiful thing; debate is a beautiful thing. Being able to discuss things between people and share our differences and, in some cases, agree to disagree is a beautiful thing. I am bugged to the ends of the earth by character assassinations...it's tireless!
I feel that it is a real mistake for us to disregard people's opinions, as well, just because we don't agree with something they have said in the past. Just because I don't care for "Bob's" ideas on politics doesn't mean that if he says brush fires start when you play with matches in dry, wooded areas, I shouldn't listen. The fact is that opinions are there for you to listen to or observe and then read up/research information and find your OWN opinion on things. Sometimes, you will agree. Sometimes you will blatantly disagree, but I don't think that shutting people out completely is the solution. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and when you shut out the opinions of others just because you disagree, you are shutting out your ability to gain knowledge and giving away your power.
At what point do we take a stand and say, "I will NOT be a part of picking on someone's personal characteristics because I don't agree with them"? At what point do we stop trying to shut people up because we don't like what they're saying. At what point do we accept what REAL freedom of speech means but still remember that just because you have the ability to exercise that right, there are times when it is inappropriate. I am all for letting your voice be heard, believe me. I am an advocate for free speech and the Constitution but our founding fathers would be mortified at how much time and attention a great deal of the people I've observed spend worrying about someone's weight, shoes, or religious preference instead of what the subject of their discussion is. They would be mortified to see how some people (including a large portion of the media, in my opinion) sit in wait to pounce on those that make a slip of the tongue or voice "the wrong" opinion. At what point do we stand up and say, "No more"?