Yes, I'm confident all of them are right Most of the times, but I have doubts sometimes Not really, I'm often not certain see voting resultssaving...
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100
1 vote
Jul 26, 2015

I have a solid personal opinion base. I can be stubborn. For the most part, though, I am open to a well reasoned rebuttal.

There are some basic tenets that I adhere to. You will not change my basic opinions about God, FOX news and Rosie O'Donnell.

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100
main reply
1 vote,
Jul 26, 2015

I also have a solid personal opinion, and base my opinions on what i can prove. But if you can show where my facts are wrong, or the way I have interpreted them is wrong, I'm more than willing to change my mind. That said I have found that many who disagree with me, generally start name calling once they can't back their opinion up.

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100
User voted Not really, I'm often not certain.
1 vote
Jul 27, 2015

I try to remember that they are wrong. Sadly, i sometimes forget.
I know them to be wrong, i intend for them to be wrong. Just like people read a book to be right, i like to hear people saying the right things, so that i can know them.

How to make sure they are right things? Talk with more people, use common sense and reason, and as a last resort, read.

That being said, this goes for ALL of my thoughts and opinions. Beliefs are just ingrained opinions that have survived the test of time, and as such, it is harder to change them, hence my forgetfulness. now, political and social beliefs are something i don't talk about often because i admit my own lack of knowledge.

At least, politics-wise. I'm studying social sciences so i'd like to think i know something about the topic.
There's also the fact that we all dabble in the social world everyday, but not so much in the politic word, etc etc etc.

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50
2 votes
Jul 26, 2015

Pretty sure, because I try to base my beliefs on rational reasoning.

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50
2 votes
Jul 26, 2015

I don't think there's any guarantee that anyone's political beliefs are right. We just make the best conclusions we can within the limits of our ability and the information we have. The more certain I am of my information, the stronger my opinion will be.

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0
User voted Most of the times, but I have doubts sometimes.
0 votes
Sep 28, 2015

One must make a distinction between values, policies, perspectives, and tactics to achieve those policies.

When it comes to values, yes. I believe that I am onto something. I am not always right, of course: I am growing as a compassionate, empathetic human being, and sometimes that means broadening one's perspectives and seeing things from the viewpoint of a new stakeholder. But I do believe that I am expressing a set of values that will allow human beings to grow into something greater.

In general, I believe that my belief in optimism, a sense of duty, and the idea that our struggles producing incremental change are valid. I believe in my heart of hearts as Dr. King did: That the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice.

When it comes to policies, I am reasonably confident that I am proposing ideas that are worth considering. We know so little about sociology that no policy can be considered ironclad. Even policies that seem well-tested sometimes can create unexpected snarls. Still, I do my research, I try to look at the policy from multiple perspectives, and I try to make sure to consult experts of a variety of backgrounds to really make sure that there's something to be said. I think we have to be experimental and willing to abandon ideas with no sense of shame or ego when it comes to policies.

When it comes to perspectives, I have near-ironclad confidence. What I do is I try to share ideas and perspectives from the underdog, or from a more enlightened perspective that is more hopeful. That may mean trying to educate fellow white people, fellow men, fellow straight people, etc. on some of what it may feel like to not be those things, or to provide some kind of insight into our experience that might help build empathy and common ground. Here, I'm not worried about a big T Truth as much as a little t truth. When I act in this capacity, I'm not saying that there's no valid disagreements or that anyone's perspective is actually wrong, just that there's another way of looking at it that may be illustrative.

When it comes to tactics, I am quite certain that what I propose works to accomplish certain objectives. Again, I cannot be totally certain, because even when trying to push toward a trajectory of change in your immediate social network you can't be certain. Still, I believe that I have a very good sense of what works for certain people in the long run. I don't tend to buy into the politics of momentary topical outrage. I try to build longer-term intelligence, compassion, empathy, and hope. In my view, our problem is not that people are unaware that circumstances are not as they should be: It's that people are hopeless. My work is about giving them tools to conquer that hopelessness.

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