How do I form my own political opinions ?

The irony of this question is that most people responding to it are probably trying to gently nudge you into their political corner, even though your question is more or less "how do I think for myself instead of just adopting the political beliefs people invite me to?"

This goes for being a centrist, too. There's a difference between saying you roughly agree with chunks of the left and chunks of the right, vs. "I'm politically apathetic", or "I don't think I know enough yet to identify with any specific political leaning." Also, it might be worth noting that both the far-right and far-left feel frustration with moderates and/or party leadership (lots of socialists think that democrats lack commitment or directly oppose their values, alt-right thinks republican leadership support too much globalism).

Similar to what and suggest, I'd recommend doing your best to try and learn more about topics that interest you and develop your opinions out of that understanding. Be mindful of your sources. People with political biases aren't inherently dishonest or inaccurate when presenting information, but you should double-check their sources before accepting their data as gospel. Also, it's possible for people to draw wildly differently conclusions based on the same data/information.

Last thing I'll point out: The "left" and the "right" are not hiveminds, but are umbrellas that encompass a wide array of values and worldviews. Some of these worldviews may seem contradictory. Don't be afraid to change your mind about things. Having an evolving understanding of the world isn't a bad thing, and it's okay to look back on yourself and think, "Wow, I really have a different opinion about this issue now then I did back then."

Most of what I've learned about politics came from Youtube. I also read a few books about subjects that interest me the most, such as the economy and the history of socialism (Fun fact, socialism existed as far back as societies were built. Palto's republic is what many today would consider to be a socialist utopia.) Political Juice is a great channel that deserves more love, so you should check his videos.

That being said, one of the biggest issue with modern politics is people believing that they have to choose a side. That they're either a Democrat or a Republican, and nothing else. This usually leads to some very uninformed people having very strong opinions about issues they know nothing about only because they want to have same opinions that their side is supposed to have.

Here in Québec, the political climate is much friendlier than in the USA, but there are a lot of very uninformed people who have a lot of political influence. Sometimes, when I debate with my friends, they think I'm a radical freak when I say I dislike every political party or that I disagree with X policy, but when I explain my reasoning, they almost always end up agreeing with me.

YOU HAVE TO EITHER ORANGE MAN BAD
OR
MINORITY BAD ABORTION BAD

Go fucking kill yourself, you don't even think for yourself you just copy other people's opinion because you like to be in the cool kidz left or right group.

>implying you're any different by lacking a conviction
Get fucked, retard. You are literally a nobody flaunting his mediocrity

this first lesson trips most people up, left or right.

Its okay to say "I don't know."

Seriously. Most people i know that try to sound intelligent or relevant fail at this lesson, and they'll think they have to have an answer for every possible direction a conversation can take. And all that does is make you look like a fool in front of someone who is knowledgable. Way more than just saying "I don't know enough to decide."

Of course, this only matters if you and your participants are acting in good faith.

if you just want to chew someone up and spit them out, there's more scrupulous and effective short term methods.

Wow I wonder how many people think other people copy opinions? That's a pretty unoriginal thought, maybe you should kill yourself?

>hurr durr you don't have a group loner
See how quick "your" opinions change when the leading man in your party says something that differs them.
Just play along the script...

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>taking the kill yourself meme seriously
First day on the internet?

>he thinks I follow a party leader to dictate my opinions
>strawmanning this hard
I'd like to say it's deliberate, but it's not because you legitimately lack the mental capacity to grasp that someone who leans in any particular political inclination isn't going to adhere precisely to any particular narrative, unless they're like you and they follow absolutes to a T because they lack the ability to think critically and perhaps even the want to understand their opponent to tear them apart, like I'm doing to you now.

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>they're like you and they follow absolutes to a T because they lack the ability to think critically
Oh you mean like when you form opinions based on which school club you belong to and think someone's opinions are invalid if they don't choose a club to back them up?

You are literally choosing a club, you think you're being edgy and a contrarian by electing to lack a conviction, but you are literally just a fedora tipper. Your entire personality can be summed up as "attention seeking, complemented by an incessant desire to be different".

It's okay, don't worry little one. You can still pick a side and be different, it's just you won't get the liberty of not taking accountability for yourself or your viewpoints anymore.

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Sell drugs

>not being in an imaginative political blue vs red group = lack of conviction
I hope you're trolling

>he thinks that my political opinions lie in an imaginary red vs blue group
I hope you're trolling

Also, I can see you're giving up the fight considering you've lost

1. Establish your personal ethical doctrine.
2. Research umbrella topics that are currently issues in your political sphere of the world.
3. Consume the same story from 2-3 different sources if you feel that the 1st source was overly biased.
4. Make your philosophy major friends wet with how individualistic and idealistic you are by sharing your newfound confidence in your political opinions.

It's not a fight, you're just spouting nonsense.
You're the one who got offended by this without even realizing it.
You're the one who wants to sort everyone in blue or red

If you don't work in the government or have an actual education in things like economy or political science for example, you can't form your own opinion.
Everyone's just regurgitating shit they heard. And it's all watered down packaged issues brought to them by people.wanting their vote.

Notice how where you're born or who your friends are determines who you vote for more than anything? There's a reason for that.

While it's true that we're influenced by the information that we're exposed to, people are not incapable of independent thought or critical thinking. People are capable of being self-critical towards their own biases.

I'm right leaning but here's my take...

If you see a story that piques your interest, read up on it, but if you read CNN, consider reading a news source that plays on the opposite side, or vice versa. I don't consider CNN quality news, but it works for my example.

There are fairly center, okay reporting sources that will help you paint a decent picture. Read what you can about a topic and think about it yourself, as to what you think it means to you. If you're truly serious, voice your opinions from time to time with people you can trust to not go ape on you for thinking differently, and see if your thoughts hold up.

>There are fairly center, okay reporting sources that will help you paint a decent picture. Read what you can about a topic and think about it yourself, as to what you think it means to you.

I know that some people believe that it's easier to see the truth of a story if you read it through the perspective of two extremes, but I think it's more valuable to consider the credibility of a source, rather than compare which narrative sounds more appealing to you. NPR's website is a pretty decent news source if you're trying to familiarize yourself with different topics. Their radio/podcasts can get a bit too bogged down in talking heads.

Side note: Be wary of any site or article that seems extremely clickbaity or provocative. Again, clickbait articles aren't NECESSARILY inaccurate reporting, but it's a red flag that they may be more interested in getting your blood pumping than spreading truth.

Politics are shit.
When i tried politics for real i had a meeting were the main guy was smoking weed with a slum kid. And we were asked that to succed we basically had to propaganda on slums and sheit.

Real politics is shit, imagine how bad it must be with the jews, hollywood, moloch, degenerate rich people, UN, etc.

The lack of nuance you have towards politics is breathtaking. If you think all right-wingers are racists and all liberals are offended cucks, you’ve never engaged seriously with politics

>How can I form my own political opinions and how do I decide which side is best?
your ideas are your own if you believe them, it doesn't matter what the original source is or if they were 100% original.
the opinions of others are tools to help you form your own understanding, nothing more.

think about how knowledge works in general.
mathematicians don't say
>i refuse to learn any math from anyone else, i need to form my own understanding
they learn from others and then think about what they agree and disagree with, the holes in what they've learned, and how they can extend their knowledge and fill those holes.

imagine trying to debunk a proof by saying
>you believe in the fundamental theorem of algebra? LOL. you're just parroting what your handlers taught you to think.
rather than looking for flaws in the proof itself. seems silly, right?

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>how do I decide which side is best?
If you think that there is any practical difference between "acceptable" political parties, you are a brainlet, guaranteed. Don't treat politics like a team sport. If you agree with others on a particular issue, good for you, but taking shitty package deals, especially in the form of the scam called electoral democracy, is a waste of your time.

Found the cum-guzzling faggot