Politics are hard. They are divisive, confusing and full of big words that I don't understand most of the time, which is probably why my first and only 'C' in school came my senior year of high school during my concurrent U.S. Government class. It was a class full of conflicting viewpoints, arguments and essays about things I didn't understand, and frankly, didn't care about.
It's hard to care about something when you don't understand it, even if that 'something' is in control of the country you live in. The only thing I really knew about politics growing up was not to talk about them in public because it was along the same lines of asking how much money somebody made or how much a woman weighed. I didn't know how to pick someone to vote for, what issues to look at, what sources were reliable and unbiased and, most importantly, how to form my own political opinions. I was pretty much left with whatever I heard my family or peers talking about, and I was clueless on how to form my own political opinions and decisions.
In America, being that it's a democracy and all, it's probably pretty important to know how to form one's own political opinions. Without that ability, we'd be a country of sheep following the person in front of us without any idea of why we're doing what we're doing (that's how I felt anyway). So, as the new election year approaches, I've set a goal to not be a sheep anymore. I've set a goal to learn how to form my own opinions and how to think for myself on national and global issues, and if you've felt like a political sheep your entire life too, I'd ask you to join me. Here's a few easy ways to start:
1) Challenge your own opinions
A good way to start forming your own opinions is to challenge the ones you already have. Challenge them, learn to defend them, and accept the possibility of being wrong about them. These are all good things. The better you can defend your opinion, the stronger it will be, and the more you're exposed to other opinions, the more credibility you'll have defending your own opinions.
2) Don't automatically dismiss differences
There's something to be said for listening to other people, especially when those other people don't have the same viewpoint as you. The only way to learn is to listen, and as soon as we start dismissing somebody the moment they say something we disagree with, we miss the opportunity to hear the viewpoint they're coming from and learn something new.
3) Check out isidewith.com
isidewith is a pretty sweet site that, essentially, gives you a quiz over some national and global political issues and matches you with the top candidates who share the same ideas and opinions as you. It's like Tinder for politics. It's a great way to start looking further into candidates and issues on your own, and it helps explain what some of the 'big-word' policies and issues mean.
4) Follow social media
Because of Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, keeping up with politics has never been easier. Even if you're 18, it's easy to click the follow button of a few political news sources and read a summary of a debate in 140 characters or less. It takes 10 seconds. Try it.
As Americans, no matter how young or old we might be, it's important to know who and what we're voting for and the reasons behind those decisions. If you're clueless, like I often am, when it comes to politics, take some simple steps to at least begin to understand how to form your own opinions. At 18, it's easy to be apathetic, at 24, it seems even easier, but don't be. Challenge yourself. You and your country will be better off for it.
'Murica.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Politics are hard, and forming your own opinions is harder. Do hard things.