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#9 Be able to communicate and listen effectively.
An educated citizen needs to be able to speak effectively on the issues. Reading on the issues from available sources establishes a basis to start discussion on them. It is from several sources from radio/TV, print media that you start gaining working knowledge of those items that you may want to support.
It is in discussion with others that you practice how effectively you have grasped the main portions of the issues, and listening effectively to others for their point of view, that you had no frame of reference on that strengthens or weakens your belief.
When you listen to others, concentrate on what they are saying and follow their discussion. The best listeners "listen", they are not planning their next talking point and not even hearing what is being said. People who break into someone's discussion because their point is so much better are afraid if they do not get their point into the discussion, THEY will forget the point and not get their point into the discussion. Learning how to listen is an art, concentrate on the people talking. Your eyes and facial expressions give you away if you are only thinking about your next response. Listen to their response, let it settle into your frame of reference, settle accounts with your existing frame of reference and come back with intelligent questions or points about the issues. Listening makes you a more effective educated citizen.
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I agree with your blog here. As someone who tries to continually be in the loop on items, I get very irritated when I have a person who is arguing over something without knowing the facts. When they are arguing over something without having done any previous research it totally discredit's their statements because they are unfounded and considered to be ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteListening is a huge part of being a good person and also shows respect to the other person.
I've also found that as I've gotten older I've made myself be more aware. Listening to NPR on a daily basis is a great way to keep up on things and they seem to be fairly bias.
That's the tough part, is finding a place that is bias enough to get all sides of the issue at hand. Not some one sided argument. Like the kind that you would receive at Fox News Corp, or MSNBC.
Very good comment. When discussing an issue and you don't know what you are talking about, you are entirely discredited. To get your point across, you need to have your facts straight, by either listening to an un-biased account by NPR, or reading an un-biased account from Christian Science Monitor, or to the furthest extreme, watch Fox News and/or MSNBC news and select out the parts that make the most sense(which is the most difficult way) It is a never-ending process. One other fact: you need to have faith in your sources, that is why you continually listen/read the sources that you have selected as being worthy of your interest. That's what keeps those little brain synapses electrified. Very astute observations.
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