My Opinion is......

about as wishy-washy as they come. I don't believe strongly in most things the way other people seem to. Yet I still believe I'm more right than most others.

I don't know how many people are absolutely convinced that if we elect Barack Obama.....this country is going to fall apart. He is absolutely THE wrong candidate because 'fill in the blank'.

Similarly, many, many people are absolutely convinced that if we elect Hillary Clinton.....this country is going to fall apart. She is absolutely THE wrong candidate because.....

Same with McCain.

Who's right, who's wrong? Better question, who really knows? The people who spew out such opinions know because they are absolutely irrefutably right....period. All of them, with no exceptions. And they each believe that.

I guess my point is, far far too many people in this world see the world as black and white (no racial intent here). There is an absolute right, and an absolute wrong.....they speak the truth and everyone else either lies or is an idiot. There is no possibility of changing their opinion because they are simply RIGHT. They seek out people with the same essential opinions as themselves and declare them prophets.

I see the world in shades of gray....there IS no absolute right and no absolute wrong, just a lot of 'mostly right' or 'mostly wrong'. I believe most of what people say has at least a grain of truth to it....but I also believe most of what people say is uninformed or only partially informed. People are quick to read or listen to something and hear exactly the parts of it that agree with what they already believe....and conveniently ignore or don't hear the parts of it that disagree with what they believe. Those same people then turn around and state it as fact to anyone else that will listen....and the listeners hear the part of it they already believe and think 'right on!' while at the same time ignoring parts of it they disagree with. Selective listening is way too prevalent in this country.

I constantly am hearing people say something as though it is an undisputed fact such as 'Barack's preacher said that the government created HIV to kill blacks'. Maybe he did...maybe he didn't....but chances are that he said something to that affect. Fine...assuming he did, how exactly did he say it and what did he mean by it? I wasn't there to hear it or hear it's context. Obviously at face value it's a completely ridiculous statement. Barack haters are positive that he said it exactly like that, 50 times a year over the 20 years Barack listened to him (which of course to them means that Barack believes it too or he wouldn't have sat there listening to his preacher spout constant hatred.) Barack lovers say things like 'well no one believes every word out of their preacher's mouth and it doesn't mean Barack believes it'.

My point is...and I'm talking in general and not about that specific example....what percentage of the people do the research to REALLY understand the truth and the context behind it? What percentage make sure they hear something first hand before believing it? (the percentage is no doubt tiny...)

I wasn't there, didn't hear it said. I'm not an Obama supporter, nor am I against him. I support Hillary up until she drops out, then I'll probably support him. I don't look for every little thing as proof of my own already made up mind being correct. In fact, I listen to things like the example above and I refuse to let it affect my opinon.....unless I do the research myself to come as close to the truth as possible.

I guess all I'm trying to say is....I rarely have an opinion. When I get into a political discussion, it's usually not to support my opinion, but to give the truths that I hear in the other side of the argument, whether or not it fundamentally agrees with me. When I hear a Hillary lover saying how they will vote for McCain if she loses to Barack because 'he has no experience', I usually try to argue that no one has presidential experience, and that the president doesn't rule in a black box and you are electing someone who will choose the right people around them to lead the country....and THOSE people need to be experienced. When I hear a Barack lover saying how he's the only candidate because 'he isn't part of the establishment and is the only one with any new ideas'....I usually try to argue that he also has no real experience, and that you cannot run the country without people around you who know how to work within the establishment, and that his ideas are not that far from Hillary's anyhow.

In other words, I'm not for or against Barack Obama as much as I'm for or against people spouting their opinions like they are irrefutable facts and the other side are idiots.

So...what is my opinon? Simple....my opinion is, everyone else is WRONG! Which must mean that everyone but me is an idiot!

And since it's now in writing....it must be a fact!