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An Unfounded Opinion is a Terrible Thing to Waste
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Posted by heatherijames Tue Oct 21, 2008 13:22:29 PDT
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         There are few things in this world that leave a defining impression upon our lives.  Especially one that completely reboots our internal hard drives.  I had one of those moments during my sophomore year of college.  Where the fingerprint the world had left upon me was forever wiped clean and a new fingerprint, my own fingerprint, replaced it.

 

            With the upcoming elections I think back to that moment, and with all the hype surrounding this election, I would encourage you to take a bit of wisdom that helped me take control of my own thoughts and opinions.

 

            The wisdom came from a political science professor who was a refugee from Iran.  He was supposed to be teaching us about world politics, although he rarely did so.  The first day of class he said, “I’ll teach you what the books say.  But, the books aren’t always right.  I’ll quiz you leniently on the written material because I don’t feel like forcing you to buy someone else’s point of view just to get into a better graduate school.  What I will quiz you heavily upon is the ability to challenge what you’ve heard, to question what someone says, and most importantly, your tenacity to find truth for yourself rather than just believing it because someone said it.”

 

            My first response was, “Is basket weaving 101 still open for this time slot?”  My second response was, “He’s out of his mind.”  My third response was, “Why does his proposition make me nervous?” 

 

The professor was telling me it was okay to doubt what I heard and read.  He was actually encouraging us to doubt him until we did our own research to find out whether he was being truthful or not.  Was that even allowed?  I had to look behind my shoulder and realize my parents weren’t there and told myself, yes, it’s allowed. 

 

            I started viewing everything differently, including my politics.  I used to vote for who my friends voted for.  They were smart people.  One of them had to have an educated opinion about it, so I’d just let them make my choice for me.  Or, I would vote for the person someone I admired was voting for.  Like a celebrity who was smooth, svelte, and sexy.  Truly, though, it was a cop-out.  Would I let these people choose my career, my mate, my religion, or how I raise my children?  No.  Likewise, they don’t get to choose who I vote for. 

 

            I look forward to that very special day when the Official Voter Information Guide comes to my mailbox.  It is step one of educating myself.  I read the opinions and then I read who wrote the opinions.  Then I go online and figure out who the person or entity is, what they believe in, and where they get their money from or where they pay it out to. 

 

            When someone says they’re going to bring change, just saying it doesn’t do it for me.  I want to know how, when, why, and how it effects me and society in general.

 

            This presidential election, like life, is not a popularity contest.  Don’t let others make up your mind for you.  Seek out the truth yourself.  Challenge the thoughts of others in an ongoing endeavor to find your own.  And most importantly, don’t forget to vote…you could be the tiebreaker. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comment From: sunnica

Brilliant post, Heather. Very thoughtful.