In order to form more educated political opinions, we must seek a perspective that encompasses all the viewpoints. Consider the following teaching from Nir Hazon's Scroll of Wisdom:
After we realize the benefits of leaving our biases behind, we must also remember to never already have our minds made up and refuse to listen to any additional information that might change our minds as all of the information deserves serious consideration. If our goal is to form more educated opinions, we must always consider all of the options.
I would also highly recommend memorizing the following teaching from Nir Hazon's Scroll of Wisdom:
I must reiterate again that we should never already have our minds made up or think that we know something with absolute certainty and the previous quote explains the reason very clearly. In order to form more educated opinions, we must leave open the ability to listen to new information and to continuously analyze knowledge in politics with great detail.
Accepting Knowledge From Media Sources
When it comes to accepting knowledge in politics, many people just think "What source?" and soak in the information. In order to form more educated political opinions, we must think about the information that is being presented to us:
- We must consider the intentions of the news sources.
- We must separate the events that took place from what the news sources want us to think about the events that took place.
- We must make an effort to seek the truth by reading multiple sources including the sources of the opposing arguments. We must then compare and contrast the information in an evaluation of the truth.
- We must become aware of the ability of the media to use manipulation techniques in the spread of information, and we can try to recognize manipulation when we can.
- We must never blindly accept knowledge from our authority, friends, or family members. We must reach our own conclusions based on the evidence presented and we must form our own educated opinions.
For a complete theory on what knowledge we can easily accept and what knowledge is questionable and therefore up for consideration, check out the following theory: