I remembered today.. that 4th grade history changed my life!!! haha. I was the only one in the class pretty much.. lol so we moved at MY pace. Which (because I'm that amazing), meant that I finished the textbook early in the semester. So my teacher (Linda), said that I could choose what to study for the rest of the year, and at the time I was obsessed with Indians (and rocks). So I got to study rocks and Indians for the rest of the year. And choose my homework on those subjects too. hehe. Sound amazing?? I know.
Anyhow.. I was really passionate about Indians. And I just decided one day that I REALLY wanted to be able to fully put myself in their shoes and understand all that they felt, and agree with all they believed (while I was in their shoes at any rate). And I was able to. My history teacher was impressed with it at the time. And said it was a valuable skill. So I always worked to get even better at it! So naturally I'm much more amazing at it now. (And no, not just with indians!! haha).
Problem is.. I think it's given me like.. split personality!! I realized.. that when things like politics come up.. I wait to say anything until I know how the other person stands.. and then I just play devil's advocate and try to express the opposite side of the argument (no matter what side of politics this person is on). Because I feel this need for the other person to understand how both sides feel, like I do. But that means.. I have absolutely no IDEA what I believe. For cereal. And I couldn't even begin to have an idea as to how I'm going to gain an opinion or pull to either side. It feels like something I need to do, but at the same time.. it feels like having an opinion one way or the other might restrict my abilities to understand the other side of the argument!
I mean I can have opinions of my own on specific issues.. but the problem there lies in that I really don't know what the issues are. Or better yet.. I don't understand the issues enough to be able to form an opinion.
Anyhow, there's something I'm working on. And I thank Lindy Lee for bringing it to my attention! Here's hoping I make progress.
2 comments:
You do certainly like to take the other side of any discussion. Thats one of the reasons I like you so much, because I tend to look for both sides too. When we discuss things we both explore both sides.
That empathy is important. I assume you know the highest ranking Mormon in the Senate is a Democrat, right? Majority whip Harry Reid exemplifies that both-sides-of-the-coin perspective for straddling both views on an issue. My opinions line up better with the Republican platform, though.
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