Knowing

I believe that in order to truly know something, one must be able to argue the opposite.  This idea achieves crystal clarity every election season - everyone's arguing, pointing fingers, and accusing the other side of...something.  Liberals like to raise taxes and take away our guns. Conservatives don't care about anyone except rich white people. Blah blah blah. It's always the same.  And don't get me wrong, this extends beyond well beyond politics and religion, and into every aspect of what we believe we know for certain.

The issue comes up whenever there is conversation more about being "right" than actually listening.  As a sophomore in my undergrad, my roommate and I were polar opposites, particularly on the divisive lines of politics and religion.  But we addressed this head-on.  In fact, we often would just sit and talk, sharing our perspectives and hearing what the other had to say.  We both knew that one, in all likelihood, wouldn't change the other's mind on anything, and with that in mind, we recognized that there was no point in trying.  Why yell and get irate? Why foster bad blood and unhealthy relationships?  Why not seize the opportunity to listen and learn things that you don't understand?

So can you argue, honestly and clearly, the opposite side without any sarcasm or irony? Do you understand the arguments that can and will be made against your stance? Are you able to articulate what the other side believes (and even take it a step further and explore why they believe it?)?  If not, I would argue that more research needs to be done.  I don't pretend to understand everything I believe, much less everything someone else may think, but I'm working on it.  Once we stop communicating and start clashing, when we start a discourse thinking we'll change their mind or our intent is just to convey how dumb they clearly are, we've already lost.  I'm not advocating against have strong, deeply ingrained beliefs.  Not at all. Just to consider arguing against them. Whether you believe it or not.