Going to the Marine Corps after high school, and being in boot camp when 9/11 happened made me grow up very, very fast. Coming back from two tours in Iraq I found my friends inexperienced in many things of life that mattered to me, knowing nothing about death, brotherhood, and how 1 billion people in the world would kill them if given the chance. My friends were supportive and excited to see me home, but they noticed that I had changed dramatically. When I went to the Corps, I was young, inexperienced, naive. I came back upset, angry, confused, and frustrated.
Going back to college immediately after my four years of active duty, others around me (students and professors alike) had a hard time seeing a different side of the story. They had been always preaching things from a textbook, with an eye towards students believing everything that they said, without looking at the other side(s) of the issue.
I do not blame the professors. It is their job to teach, not go out and travel the World when every new country goes into a Civil War. It is hard for individuals (of all ages and walks of life) to see the other perspective. This is especially true if everyone around you has the same idea and beliefs.
Having the support of all of your peers also gives you courage to speak up, too. It is more difficult to speak up in a crowd with people that do not agree with your opinion, facts, or side of the story. This was the difficult part of my University days. Being respectful and polite to others, while also showing a new perspective.
Issue: Roadside Bombs in Iraq
Why were people planting bombs on the road in Iraq?
Some believe that the Iraqis were mad at us for attacking their country. Others believed that these were terrorists that could be punished. The facts are that neither of the above statements accurately reflects the problems. Actually, nothing could be more complex than what those people had to endure, and now even worse, what they are going through. We (the Marines) did not put this burden on them. The problems were there before we arrived, and after we left. We didn’t cause the problem, but we were trying to fix it every day. Day in. Day out. Without the details, and the understanding of what was happening there, it is hard to decide from media what is happening and why. The truth is buried in multiple sources, and piecing it together is too arduous for an individual to get all of the facts, because the facts are not concentrated in one particular place. There are bits and pieces every where, but sifting through it is hard. People always want to side with some media or some issue, because we, as humans, are social animals. We want to belong to a group. Something. Anything. It’s much harder (and frustrating) for people to sift through the ideas.
This puts our media at a most powerful position. What they say goes. At the other end, we fight about useless things that we do not have control over. Why all the fighting? I do not know, but I guess it is because people have been taught since Kindergarten to fight for being right. It’s become so bad, that kids cannot handle being wrong anymore. Parents are scolding their children’s teacher for using a Red Pen due to anxiety issues.
My University Days
Most of the people that I met in the University had opinions that were formed by media that align with their own beliefs. This has the unfortunate problem of giving others only more fuel to back up their arguments, rather than learning about how to discuss complex issues. Someone who was jumping on rooftops and killing bad guys when they were 14 years old certainly had plenty of things to say about the War that I had just left, and was still going on. Sometimes it can be…a little frustrating, can I say? :) Because talking to that individual was frustrating, and I did not learn anything from them, and they did not learn anything from me.
Media Forms Our Opinions
The best way to attack this issue on Roadside Bombs in Iraq is to be “in the suck,” as we called it.
If that is not available to you, then consuming media from different sides is a good way to understand more than one argument pertaining to issues. This provides individuals with the arguments for/against an issue, and it also allows them to see why a group of people have this opinion, whatever that opinion may be on the issue.
The best way to get better at discussing issues is to listen to others and all sides of the argument before making some judgement about a particular issues, and have a conversation with them. Want to discuss like a rock star? Do not judge others with a different opinion, then. Instead, sit with them at lunch, and learn what they know, and then tell them what you know, and then try to understand the issue better. Teach a little something to each other, and maybe the two of you can come up with a good solution that keeps the sides in agreement of the real problem and the real issue, which may be further away from your original opinion that you thought, depending upon your experience with the matter.
What Can Be Done?
Without having a different perspective, it is very hard to see something that is not in alignment with what you think about Roadside Bombs in Iraq can be any more complex than it seems. Well, what if I told you that most of the time, it was not Iraqis that were planting the RoadSide Bombs in Iraq? What you think of that statement? And it goes on from there…
I have good news, though. It is very easy to see a different perspective. All it takes is critical thinking. The best part: if you are in college, take a Critical Thinking course, or a few courses on Philosophy, or Debate. That will go a long ways towards understanding the basics of argument, thought, and critical thinking. If you are not in a University, never fear. Most importantly, learn the fallacies of argument. Even better, buy the “thou shall not commit logical fallacies” poster, and hang it up somewhere. Memorize that shit. Then, practice identifying logical fallacies in everything that you read, watch, or listen to.
Everyone does it, so it’s OK if you notice a lot of them at first. The best thing to do is try to identify the fallacies as a first step. The next step is eliminating them in your speech, writing, and thoughts. It’s much harder than it sounds! :)
Can We Do Even Better?
We need more critical thinking courses and opportunities for children of all ages in our schools, in all levels of schooling.
