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Argument on an Argument: Public Statements of Opinion

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Argument on an Argument: Public Statements of Opinion

The first amendment protects the right of people to have and share opinions. People speak their minds (unfortunately not always WITH their minds) knowing that the freedom of expressing their beliefs is there. The information gets published and it becomes available to the public through television, radio, internet, etc. and it ranges from sports outcomes to new gossip about the presidential election campaigns. The unfortunate part of all this is figuring out which opinions are worth taking in as reliable and valuable as this bulk of information comes from people from all over the world with different environments and issues that filter their views.

Not everyone shares the same views and not all of the important information floating around will ever seem valuable, but people need to get their priorities straight and acknowledge what is really going on. The media is filled with random opinions of random people from random places and random backgrounds. So which ones do you trust? The people with the highest education can be reliable with technical facts, but what about personal views? Do you trust the opinion of a renowned physicist when he makes a comment about a “true” religion? Is a mathematician the best person to comment about how abortion is wrong and that it should be illegal? You have the right to creating your own views and choosing to not believe any other opinions.

Everyone is allowed an opinion and the fact that the constitution allows you to openly express them makes it harder for people not to abuse it, yet it is very hard to get people to get into the important topics. People prefer to watch the newest paparazzi gossip rather than hearing about the Sergeant who sacrificed his live to save his squadron over in Afghanistan. The information on “pop culture” it misleads from the important subjects that everyone should be informed of the important subjects. As distracting as it is though, it is a liberty not everyone has and everyone should make the BEST of it.

Public information is infinite. Knowing who to trust and what values to take in as yours is a skill you need to learn in order to keep sane in this insane world. Being able to public express your opinion is a freedom that gets taken advantage by many but it is clearly a necessity to a healthy social order.

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