How often has a discussion on DU changed your opinion on a given topic?

[Greyhound]

I'm just wondering, since this is such a great resource for info, if it makes a real difference.

[MoseyWalker]

1. I have been able to genuinely appreciate

many people's intelligent viewpoints, and have been educated in many ways. I don't know if I am able to quantify it, but, over time, quite a few times.

[SKKY]

2. Almost never...

Most of the posts on here are ones I agree with anyway, or they're so far to the left, they're really no better than those to the far right.

[MoseyWalker]

5. I'll alter my response to add

only that maybe viewpoints haven't been completely changed, but I have achieved, many times, a broader perspective on how to see issues because of the information provided.

I agree with a lot of folks here also! However! (do do do do - scary music) really no better than those to the far right?

[Straight Shooter]

3. Several times.

More often than not, I gain an appreciation for another point of view, or I learn something which helps to support the opinion I hold.

[Jed Dilligan]

4. I wouldn't say it's changed my opinions...

But I consider some things much more important now. For instance: gay civil rights. I was never an opponent, but now I'm an active advocate.

[SeattleGirl]

6. My opinion has changed sometimes, because I have gotten

more information and education (or is that "edumacation"?) from so many people on DU.

[LSK]

I agree, its not one particular discussion, but many

[blm]

15. This is pretty much my view, as well. It's ongoing and cumulative.

.

[porphyrian]

7. Well, you see, I'm always right...

...it's just that I sometimes drastically alter my position in order to be more right.

I usually argue with people I don't agree with, but I have to admit my mind has changed more than once.

[otherlander]

8. All the idiots disagree with me.

:sarcasm:

[MoseyWalker]

9. I'm feeling somewhat offended here

oops!

[acmejack]

18. I disagree!

Oh...

[DireStrike]

10. Once in a great while, a large change... small changes almost every day

nt

[hvn_nbr_2]

11. A single discussion? Probably never. An ongoing education? Definitely.

I no longer pollute my breakfast and dinner by watching CorpMedia newsaganda over meals, and I'm better informed than I was back then.

I'm no longer just skeptical of voting machines.

Probably some other things but those come to mind offhand.

[eviltwin2525]

12. I can think of one, right off the bat...

in which discussion at DU was one element in changing my mind. My position on "gay marriage" used to be that governments had no business sanctioning an essentially religious ritual, regardless of whether it was for gays, straights, or whatever, and therefore I supported "civil unions" for EVERYBODY. But discussion here, and through Human Rights Campaign, convinced me that, regardless of my ideal solution, as long as one group enjoyed legal rights and benefits, it is unconscionable for those rights and benefits to be denied to another group.
On the other hand, changing minds is not necessarily the best reason for DU to exist. To me, it is primarily a networking, motivational and mobilizational tool. If you come here, you're probably fairly close to core Democratic values. Or else you're probably a troll.

[madmusic]

13. Yes, radically!

In my first incarnation here a poster first mentioned "eugenics" and I'd never heard of it before.

Now I have tons of books, study the Progressive Era and hate America! :) And it so explains what is going on now.

LOL, I hate THAT America. Yes, hate is too strong a word, but you get the picture.

[laundry_queen]

14. All the time.

I have a few absolutes, but for the most part, I'm cursed with seeing both sides of every issue, and so I will read a thread and think, "Oh, I totally agree!" and the next response, "Hmmm, that DU'er has a good point!" and the next, "I can TOTALLY see that side of it." And so on down the thread. Over time I might form an opinion on said topic, but it's never concrete. I enjoy learning from all sides of the issues.

[Gwerlain]

16. Rarely; however...

it has done three other things WRT my opinions that I find valuable:
1. It has informed me of additional supporting or opposing data;
2. It has informed me about issues I did not have an opinion about; and
3. It has informed me about differing opinions I did not know existed.

[acmejack]

17. It had made me appreciate the need for accommodation.

We need to move forward in Unity setting aside petty differences. I appreciate how arguing over small ideological differences can derail the larger agenda. Petty differences are just that, arguing about the small shit is really counter productive and wastes our time. It is a complex world and the Pombo's of the world have to be addressed and dealt with immediately. We face genuine crises and there is little time to waste, our children are relying upon us now.

[TankLV]

19. Quite a few times...

It's ALWAYS good to hear INTELLIGENT proven FACTS when discussing issues...

[Raine]

20. Pretty much never

I'm very opinionated plus I'm basically in agreement with the majority already.:-)

[riderinthestorm]

21. Can't say how often but it happens

I didn't used to believe in election fraud for example. I do now from the discussions on DU. People are so smart here with real documentation to support their positions, it's a wonderful resource. If you come to DU with such a closed mind that you aren't open to other opinions, you aren't going to have a good experience here imho.

[stillcool]

22. often...

especially when I first started hanging around. The difference between what I know now, and what I thought then is pretty amazing...and many lessons were learned with difficulty. It's hard to give up on beliefs that are so much a part of you, that you don't even know you have them. There's a lot of seed planters in these parts.

[H2O Man]

23. One of the things

that I like about DU is that it exposes me to topics that I was not previously aware of; to opinions I had not been exposed to before; and has resulted in my having numerous good books recommended to me by people here.

[Buzz Clik]

24. My feeling is that rabid, screaming crowds of people are usuallly wrong.

So, if a DU pack of barking mongrels is lining up on the same side of an issue as me, I have to assume that my original thinking was wrong.

[Greyhound]

25. Thank you all for your replies, I really appreciate them.

Like most of you, I've found DU to be an incredible resource, a veritable fountain of hard to find and even purposely concealed information.

I only wish that it was more well known among the general populace, it would cripple the M$M's ability to promote its half truths and outright lies.

[4theheart]

26. Yes it's hapended to me sometimes

As martin luther king once said, "The highest form of maturity is self inquiry"