Think of a small text book. So when your opinions are well thought out they will be in good order, comprehensive, and well done.
So when you recall the experience of taking in the news. For some, it seems to all fall into place naturally, like a book. But for many, our habits are flawed, so we can easily forget a variety of things related to an issue, and so wind up with bad judgement. Frazzled nerves from multi-tasking can prevent a well thought out and organized arguement from happening.
Rough Work !
Examples:
When you hear how bad Putin is from the point of view of the West, go to a news source which gives the Russian point of view. When his approval rating is 80%, he can't be that bad.
Rough Work !
Thinking of the opposite is a strategy that helps you understand how others see the same issue. When this happens, you tend to not only lose your anger, but you tend to feel less extreme. In a democracy, when the party we don't like gets elected, we need to see now that party views the world. Then it is up to us to realize that more people voted for that party, and since it is a democracy, we have to go along with the party that wins. In a complex world, we can't expect to have things done our way, even if your friends also want it that way.
Rough Work !
The amount of training a person has, the development of their abilities, how laws tend to be enforced, what actions a constitution allows for, and the strength of an economy are all related to processes which can have an impact on what you are evaluating. Your understandings will be seriously flawed if you ignore important processes
Rough Work !
Rough Work !
The process of creating the gun registry:
Many rural people in Western Canada assumed that the gun registry was a deliberate act by the government to take control of their guns. They feared that the government was planning to take their guns away from them, including the guns they used for hunting.
But:
The gun registry was created in response to the massacre of 14 women in Montreal in 1989. They were simply being a responsive government, responding to the desires of a lot of concerned women. Concerns about safety in the city were much different from the rural folk in Western Canada. It was believed that the registry would be an important tool for the police to use.
But the hype seemed to prove that a registry would not solve all problems. Radio talk shows did not want to admit that it was a little like getting a drivers licence. The government did fail to communicate properly, so there were angry misunderstandings. The government needed to respond to the fears of many farmers, that the government was plotting against them. The gun registry was eventually cancelled.
Rough Work !
Rough Work !
The Triple E Senate:
Triple E stands for equal, effective, and elected. It was developed by an Alberta farmer and the radio talk shows loved the idea. There was a lot of hype around it so the Reform party and Stephen Harper got on the bandwagon and gained a lot of votes by supporting the Triple E Senate. They even had expensive elections in which Senators were selected, and then the Prime Minister chose to accept the results, to go along with what was happening and appoint those people to the Senate.But:
They could not change the constitution by simply passing laws. Due to the constitution, Ontario would have to give up its powers and influence and vote in favor of a Triple E Senate which would give more power to the other provinces. Obviously, that was not going to happen. Also, a more effective Senate meant that it would be harder for the government to get things done. Stalemates in the United States Senate were reminders that giving more power to the Senate was probably a very expensive, bad idea.
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©2014 Brian M. Brown All rights reserved.