Quote:
Originally Posted by Typhoid
So I read this thread again, accompanied with thinking of many other forums.
People say things such as "Did you read what __ said" or "__ said this" or "But __ is an ___?"
Can people not make up their own minds, without encorporating any thoughts of any type of media influence, or something?
|
To think that your thoughts and opinions haven't been directly influenced by others is foolish. We are bombarded with opinion-making media and commentary daily on TV, the radio, billboards and yes even the classroom. Trying to say you can avoid letting media affect your opinion is like saying you can breathe without inhaling. You have to inhale, you have no choice in the matter.
Enjoying the opinion of others can also be an enlightening experience. It allows you to look at a topic from another perpective and the works of those that would have their opinions heard have done no less than change the world, such as those from Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Abrham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Payne and Jesus (regardless of whether he is the son of God or not). The danger is simply repeating what someone else has said without actually thinking about it or doing any research on your own. This is far more rare, but an example of this is Hitler and his rise to power.
Listening to what others have to say can help strengthen your own opinion or better yet, help change your opinion for the better once you've thought about a topic from a new light. The point is to LISTEN and THINK before allowing it to help shape your thoughts. Those are two activities that one can never do too much.