Lately I have realized that in order to win a debate you must have a solid defense. You must know what you are talking about and not just have a skimpy foundation. For example, last semester I tried to lecture my Philosophy teacher on the ramifications of drinking soda. I thought I was smart, until he destroyed every argument that I had on why drinking soda is not healthy. Who would have thought that he was once a Pre Med student? The point is that I was guilty of jumping into something that I thought I knew something about and was schooled back into reality. I decided that I wouldn't let myself get in a situation like that again.
The first step I decided to take was to become an informed voter and not someone who voted for one party, strictly cause my parents voted that way. I enrolled in a U.S. Government and Politic class. I thought this would be a good way to figure out exactly what I agreed with and what I don't agree with. What party do I fit into? Do I fit into a party? These are all things we should all take time to figure out.
I am excited to take this new road to self discovery and awareness. We all should take a proactive stance and better ourselves by engaging in seeking knowledge about a certain topic before we jump in head first. We don't want to end up looking like an ignoramus.
4 comments:
I took a class about society and our public school system with this same idea in mind. I still don't have all the answers. I just have more questions. Arh. So good luck. Hopefully the class will help you to learn how to at least ask better questions.
Our participatory government is failing because we refuse to participate, so yay for you. You probably won't feel like you fit anywhere very well -- most people who really think about issues don't -- but that's the whole point of government by the people. If it were possible to devise two party platforms that embraced all the good possibilities, we could just set them up in our constitution once and for all and then dispense with all this endless yammering. But our government is flexible by design and it's the yammering that holds it together. And it only works if people are thinking critically about society and about their own views and are ready to adjust their thinking as more evidence comes in.
However, I think we should all vote Democrat this year, regardless of our political beliefs. A little tribute to our dearly departed Elder Faust.
I have no problem voting for who I believe in regardless of party affiliation...
The most valuable excersize for me here is the value of asking the world and yourself questions. I think when we start this process we open ourselves up to possibilities that were always available, just unaccessed due to our lack of curiousity.
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