What has influenced your way of thinking the most?

samsmart said:

None of the above.

This did.

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This video has influenced your entire political outlook ?

lpast said:

This video has influenced your entire political outlook ?

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It has, and the series of it.

It has because it showed me how vital it is to understand the sciences behind policies, and how important it is to factor the statistics in the policies a government pursues.

This is why I am a proponent of legalizing all recreational drugs. I think that if we factored the numbers into it, the monetary costs to a society allowing the use of recreational drugs will be less than the monetary costs to a society criminalizing and prosecuting it.

So this video started to get me to understand thinking on a harder scientific level. And doing that got me to understand thinking on a harder economic level. And, from that kind of thinking I've evolved my personal political philosophy.

Your Star said:

I would have to say my former, and current teachers. I've been really lucky and have had amazing teachers who have taught me to think critically, analytically, and for myself. I'm very grateful for them.

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I had a couple teachers like you, I remember Mr. Read for 7th and 8th grade.
But, mostly, it was my parents and not going to church.

Mathematician said:

Simple, logic.

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I have not found functional logic to be simple.

Sarcogito said:

Living and working in numerous countries on 5 continents. The more of the world I saw the more my beliefs changed.

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I'd like you to consider this question w/o jumping to an answer. Did your beliefs change into other different beliefs or did they change into something different than beliefs? Thanks.

Matt Foley said:

What has influenced your way of thinking the most?

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- 7 years of suffering in the Army
- Seeing the world and realizing that america isn't the rainbowed unicorn paradise that you're told it is
- 15 months in afghanistan
- College science and engineering
- My college physics professor
- DebatePolitics.com
- Lots of self-reflection and study

Matt Foley said:

I meant more like what influenced your political thinking, not everything in general. Wish I could edit the title. Another ****ed up poll by me.

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No, you then accidentally asked the correct question. My political thinking is the same process as my other thinking. I have found some that don't actually think about political issues, they just follow their leaders rules, but you asked about thinking.

Matt Foley said:

What has influenced your way of thinking the most?

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I would say that the biggest influence on the way I view politics is my childhood. I was raised in an environment where good values were taught, but enforcement was light. Iow, I was given the basics for positive social behaviors and values, but was given the freedom to succeed or fail, based on my own actions. I also come from practical-minded parents who had a live and let live approach, but didn't believe in saving people from their own mistakes.

Parents
3 years, six months and 28 days as USAF Security Police
College
Graduate school
Reading - My parents loved to read and they passed that love of reading on to us.
A lot of travel in the U.S and outside the U.S. - Travel changes perspective.
Living far from where I grew up and far from family