Gullible is on the ceiling...

This is a call for all of those who believe that they believe totally in whatever political/ religious/ social issue, to just stop. Just stop and look and what you're believing in. Are you sure that you believe in it? Do you have evidence/ examples supporting it? Do you get your information from a credible source? Does the source have a strong bias? Have you looked at the other side? Considered the other side? Do you understand where the opposition is coming from?

Until one has gone through all of these steps, they don't really know what they're talking about. They're ignorant. To make a decision, you have to hear the other side of things. People should not believe the first thing they hear because it's may not be true.

For example, I was talking with a friend last night who for awhile was totally against the Ground Zero community center (I know this is fairly old news, but stick with me). He thought it be disrespectful towards the Americans who died on September 11th and that it was an act of defiance against the US saying, "We conquered you." For awhile, I tried to tell him about the liberal perspective, talking about freedom of religion and religious tolerance for all, including the Islamic religion. Last night, I got a phone call and it was my friend telling me how he'd read an article about the couple who want to start the Ground Zero community center. He read it in TIME magazine-- which he had heard me talk about a fair amount of times before-- and realized that there was more weight to the issue than he had thought before, despite my attempts to tell him earlier on when the issue first came out. He learned that the couple who started the community center had actually been working on fighting the Taliban, not the opposite like Reverend Terry Jones believed. He also learned that the reason that the Muslim couple want the community center is because they believe the US needs it. In the US history, we've oppressed Blacks, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Irish, Catholics, Jewish, and many more. In current times, people of the Islamic faith are stereotyped and are misunderstood, especially those here in America.

What I want people to know is that they're two sides to everything. Right and Left. Good and Bad. Wrong and Right. Whatever. It's important to see that people shouldn't believe everything they hear. Terry Jones is a good example of this...

My European history teacher, one who I will remember for the rest of my life told our class to always question authority. Question everything. Make sure you have the right information and don't be afraid to admit your ignorance.