The Fallout

The day after the first presidential debate and everyone has an opinion. I say, does it really matter who performed better when the facts were mostly left out? I am effective debater. I understand the ways, but I am also a passionate person, so my passion will almost always, eventually, win out in the end. This is why I do not like debates. Perhaps it is the connotation that "debate" suggests. When I here debate, I feel contention. When I engage in debate, I often feel contention, and I hate that feeling. It is one of the main reasons for my frequent avoidance of confrontation. Regardless of my knowledge on any given subject, I would almost always rather allow people to go on their merry way, sticking to their beliefs because it is almost impossible to change anyone's mind. Take me, for example. I was raised in a very conservative home, where being Republican was expected, and I obliged. I listened to Rush Limbaugh and later Sean Hannity and thought that every word out of their mouths was gospel. I voted for Dole, and then I voted for W. I despised Clinton, based on the conservative agenda to attack and discredit him any way possible. The good news is that I came around. I changed my mind, but it wasn't without long hours of serious study and long conversations with people that held opposing points of view. With greater education came great understanding. I know what some of you want to say, "You were indoctrinated!" Yes, I suppose you can make that argument, but can one indoctrinate him or herself? And does it have negative connotations when one is indoctrinated with the truth and right way? I feel like I am on the verge on babbling, so I will retire on that point to ponder.