I am often reminded of my own ignorance practically every time I attempt to argue a point I'm passionate about. I've been noticing that despite the fact I keep myself informed on topics, I am constantly overwhelmed by the scope of opinion and magnitude of passion people have behind thier ideas.

I think protests breed anti-protest mentality. I know in my group while we joke about being YES IRAQ WAR, we are really just retaliating against what we believe to be ignorant people just going with the flow. I think thats why there is such a great divide in opinion. There isn't enough exchanged between the two sides, and thus everyone on both sides gets steeped in a kind of political dogma that they can't imagine living without.

I feel like I always get the most out of conversations where both sides take time to consider the ideas and opinions of the other. Like everyone has been saying, its time to get away from the "wait for your turn to speak" mentality.