For some social, political, and legal controversies we can easily look at some relevant facts, examine our values, and then independently form our own opinions on what side of the issue we should take.
For other issues, that is not so easy. The background may be enormously complex and beyond our understanding, or it may just be so uninteresting and boring to us that we do not want to invest any time doing any background research to form an opinion.
In those cases where you would not do your own research on some issue to form your own opinion independently, would you rely on the opinion of another and trust that you should support them?
One current instance that comes to mind has to do with what is referred to as “Net Neutrality” and the telecommunication industry. I frankly do not know the background of the issue, do not have a strong opinion, and have virtually no interest in doing my own research on it. Still, the issue is very important and the outcome can be influenced by the actions taken by citizens like us, and how we engage with our elected officials.
I tend to generally side with leftist political blogs (daily kos, mydd, etc.) and they clearly have taken a particular side in this battle (the same side, ironically, as the very conservative Christian Coalition). There are a few times where I disagree with these blogs, but mostly I trust their opinions more than I do that of conservative stripes.
There is a part of me that feels guilty about relying on others to form opinions and not forming my own independently, but there is a competing part that feels guilty for not being involved and active on issues that merit involvement.
Do you rely on the opinions of others for any of your views, and then engage in activism on that issue in favor of those views?
Re: Do you rely on others for your political views?
I don't express opinions in public unless I have arrived at my opinions myself. But I do tend to trust certain groups of people more than others. For example, while I don't always fully grasp certain scientific subjects, I tend to trust scientists more than I do politicians or commentators.
And we do have a mini voting bloc at the house here. We don't all necessarily research each specific ballot issue ourselves, but split up the research duties and make one big cheat sheet that we all use.
(Plus, if you have questions about net neutrality, I can try to answer them. I'm enough of a novice myself that I can probably answer some stuff more clearly than smart guys can.)
Re: Do you rely on others for your political views?
I'm going to wait to see how others respond to this question before formulating giving my answer.
__________________ Of Courtesy, it is much less than Courage of Heart or Holiness. Yet in my walks it seems to me that the Grace of God is in Courtesy.
Re: Do you rely on others for your political views?
I do sometimes rely on others to inform me about an issue that I find very complex or that enters into the shades of grey. I then draw my own conclussions about what I personally think. Sometimes I am swayed, other times I am not. But unless I find that I was either drasticly ignorant or misinformed about the issue when I initially begin to query , I am often not swayed very far.
In some issues I am conservative on and on others, I can either be a moderate or liberal on. It is hard for me to find a political party that I am truly in agreement with and tend to vote outside of my party if I see a better cansdidate.
I am an activist to a certain point. I believe strongly in civil rights of others and I believe strongly in preserving a woman's right to choice. In both cases, I have picketed, contacted the senate and congressional representatives many, many times, attended town hall meetings and county commisioner meetings over issues important to me.
I do not feel like a poser or like I am being played because I try to look on all sides before I form an opinion, so I do not feel any shame in asking or seeking outside opinions.
Re: Do you rely on others for your political views?
I find myself in agreement with others on the slanted websites I frequent more often than not. I tend to hang around conservative sites because that's the sort of people one finds who tends to hang around military or firearms boards. Thus, on the issues that are of most note to them, such as Iraq or firearms laws, because of our shared interest, we seem to have shared fundamental opinions before we even read each others' posts. Political issues which are much less relevant to the board's primary subject matter are much less discussed, so there is less chance of my being influenced by argument on the boards. But then, the argument which is on the boards is likely over something which I have already formulated an opinion on because the subject matter interests me, and other people on the board enough to be brought up. It's something of a viscious circle.
So, no. I don't rely on others for political views, but I have no issue with taking arguments in support of a position from others.
NTM
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A man only needs two tools in life. WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
Re: Do you rely on others for your political views?
I think I must arrive at my own political views, the full spectrum of my political views are such a mixed bag I don't align with any particular party too closely. For instance, I'm a civil libertarian, believe people ought to be able to do pretty much what they want as long it doesn't markedly harm anyone else, but in actuality, in my own personal life, I am pretty conservative. And, I like guns and the most "liberal" interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, but don't have any heartache over gun registration or keeping them out of the hands of certain people. I'm very much interested in military technology and history, but am anti-war (except when fully justifiable). Those are just a few of my juxtaposed political views. Currently, I lean in the Democrats direction; I blame George W. Bush for that.
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Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
Do you rely on others for your political views?
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