You know, knowledge is a funny thing. No matter how much we think we have, there's always more out there to get. No matter how well we think we understand something, there always seems to be more to it than that. Political issues are much the same; at least with me.
When I first look at an issue, I see the surface of it. Usually it's fairly simple which makes it easy for me to see a solution. However, as time goes on and I learn more about the issue, sometimes my "solution" turns out to me not as much of a solution - in fact, sometimes it makes the problem worse in the long run. This is one of the reasons I blog, I want people to see my ideas. Not because I want to be famous, but because I want the good ideas to be implemented and the bad ideas to be corrected. As fun as it is to think that all my ideas are perfect, I know they aren't. However, what I don't know is which ideas are wrong and where they go wrong. If I did, I'd fix them.
Recently I've been going to a seminar put on by the National Center for Constitutional Studies. This seminar focuses on the Founding Fathers and what they were thinking while debating the Constitution. While I'm not in 100% agreement with their conclusions, the information taught has changed a lot of my perspective when it comes to government. Perhaps I should correct myself and say that it's changing my perspective. I'm not sure where I'll end up from this but it is challenging some assumptions that I never thought to question before. That's a good thing. Perhaps after pondering this new information, I'll draw the same conclusions that I drew before. Perhaps I'll change them. The important thing is that I'm thinking about them.
Knowledge, ideas, issues, and solutions should never be assumed infallible and left unquestioned. We should not be afraid of challenges to our ideas/beliefs. As we re-examine them we will either become more convinced of their correctness and better able to share them with others, or we will see the error of our ways and be able to change before any more harm is done.
The problem with today's political climate is that it's too polarizing. If you're a Republican, it's assumed that you feel that any idea from a Democrat is wrong and visa versa. There doesn't seem to be any real debate, any compare/contrast of different ideas, or even any agreement. Why is bi-partisan legislation such news? Shouldn't it be the norm? Why is it that if a Republican has an idea that Democrats feel they have to fight against it and visa versa? Why can't we discuss our ideas like human beings instead of yelling and fighting all of the time. I think some more honest discourse would do our country a world of good.
So what I'm saying is that I've started to re-examine some of my ideas. I'm trying to apply some of the thoughts and views of our Founding Fathers into my thinking and see if I reach the same conclusions. Stay tuned, this might get interesting.
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