I recently had the interesting experience of watching someone's political awakening. Different people experience it at different parts of their lives, and some never experience it at all. It made me think about why I believe what I believe and the process that took me here. It also made me think about how I've grown from when I first started thinking about politics.
Our society, and politics in particular, is a great conversation. I think everyone should join this conversation. If we want our government to represent the people, then all of the people need to understand and contribute to it. I don't always agree with everyone in the conversation, but I value their voices. The voices of opposition make me reconsider my own views; they force me to justify my positions and sometimes to change my mind.
Often, it's better not to speak. It's better to listen and read and absorb. Stay out of the fray, and let it wash over you. Listen to the people you agree with, and decide whether that's really an argument you want to associate yourself with. Listen to the people you disagree with, and think about the issue from their perspective. Above all else, challenge yourself to remain objective until you know you understand the issue and can form a well-informed opinion on it. If you speak more than you listen, what do you learn?
When you do speak, not everyone is going to agree with you. Be prepared to back up your views with arguments based on facts. To do so properly requires time and preparation. Some people will listen to rational arguments; some people won't. The second group will only frustrate you, and you probably shouldn't engage them. I try not to enter a political debate unless I am very, very sure of my facts, and I try to stay as neutral as I reasonably can. Most things aren't worth going to war over. Once you get into a fight like that, it's easy to lose your perspective. Winning and defending yourself become more important than the issue itself.
The sad thing about our political conversation is that it easily becomes a cacophony of voices. Everyone is so intent on speaking their mind that they stop listening. Everyone is so convinced they are right that they don't consider the other sides of the issue. Our society today faces many challenges. Some of these challenges are economic, like healthcare, student loans, and the recession. Some of these challenges are moral and societal, like abortion law and gay marriage. Still more challenges concern our safety and security. These challenges are complicated. Some of them involve the careful manipulation of massive, partially-coupled systems that we can't fully model. Some of them involve reconciling the very real views of groups that oppose each others' way of life. These are complicated problems, and they have no simple solutions. I promise you that regardless of what your idea is, someone has had it before. There is probably a reason it hasn't been implemented. In some cases, the reason is inertia, fear, or lack of will. In more cases than not, the reason is because there is a fundamental flaw in the idea. Beware of simple solutions, because they rarely hold up to scrutiny. Of course, that doesn't mean you should throw up your hands. Keep looking for answers. If we give up, we consign ourselves to living as we do now forever, and not only is that unsustainable, it's a denial of our awesome potential as a civilization.
Here's the bottom line. I've been interested in politics since a relatively early age. I'm not politically active in the sense of canvassing for a candidate, but I've been aware of current events for as long as I can remember. I've had a lot of different political views over the years, and no, I don't blindly parrot my parents, although we agree on many things. When you first start looking at politics, it's easy to get distracted by shiny things. For eleven year-old me, it was democratic communism. For many college-aged political neophytes, it's Randian libertarianism. Ideas like that are appealing because of their simplicity, and it makes them look elegant. They are a trap for people looking for simple answers. Once you start thinking harder and listening more than you speak, you move past the political junk food. The scary thing is that the world isn't black and white. Nothing is simple. The answers to our problems are subtle and nuanced. Many of the solutions come at high costs, costs we might not want to pay. I've looked at enough issues from enough sides that I've got a decent idea of what I believe and a healthy knowledge that I don't know the answers. I'll keep looking at issues from different angles, and my beliefs will keep evolving. In the past, I've completely reversed my views on things. More often than not, I've withdrawn from issues entirely. There's no shame in changing your mind, no shame in admitting you're wrong, despite what the press would have us believe. That said, you can't take anything back. You own your words, and unless you've thought very carefully about your beliefs, maybe you should hold back a bit longer.
