How do I develop my own political beliefs? Where do I start for things like history? What should I read about from history to have a decent lens to view current events through?
I'd like to stop being a parrot for other people's ideas. How should I start?
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>How should I start?
By not being a colossal faggot you colossal faggot.
Get off Sup Forums and read some books
Read other people's views.
Look for facts on the issues, ignore opinions.
Form your own opinions based on those facts and evidence
Return to step one.
I am for instance considered far left by some, far right by others and a centrist moderate by others. Why? Because the evidence supports each group in different subjects.
Start with the history of Rome.
I've got a general understanding of the history of Rome. Do you have any solid sources for a more comprehensive history of Rome?
Who should I pay attention to for views and such?
Any book suggestions?
Everybody. I read my country's local news articles and opinion pieces. Immigration is X, trickle down economics is Y, etc. Then I look at all the facts surrounding those issues. Take what any of them say with a grain of salt and use what they say as a catalyst for you to look for facts about a subject.
>Any book suggestions?
'How Not to be a Colossal Faggot, Volume One'.
Take some online political quizzes to see where you stand on the major issues, then research both sides.
Dont pay attention to people who get too emotional, its just a waste of time and you wont learn anything. Also remember to self-reflect every now and then and ask yourself "What if everything I believe is wrong?"
>1. Consume massive amounts of content that you easily agree with, make your own echo chamber
>2. Consume massive amounts of content that you dont agree with
read mein kampf
Start with the greek philosophers and work your way forward
You need to listen and read things from any ideological spectrum. You should especially read things that make you uncomfortable. Since you are on Sup Forums books on the unique challenges of black people in the US would be a prime example.
You need to fact check things you take for granted, and find several non-partisan sources if possible.
Anyone saying start with the Greeks is an idiot. Read history books covering eras of extreme political changes like those of the 30's-70's. Form opinions based on what you take away from those books. I really enjoyed The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by william shire. It was eye opening and covers many of the political ideas of the time and shows how similar things are now a days. History is key to understanding human behavior, both present and future.
Not him (obvs), but I've tried this, I find very little political discussion that makes me uncomfortable, I just flat out disagree with their premise or conclusion most of the time
Be open minded and never let your emotions control your thoughts.anyone who is too emotional is a joke. My friends gf is like that. Believes she is the most intelligent human being on earth, literally says things like "you cant even talk with me because i run circles around you and am on a much higher level than you". Then I destroy her entire 40 minute long argument with a few sentences so she gets very angry, demands i answer all these hypothetical questions, raises her voice, and interrupts me every time i try to respond. Then she starts screaming, cursing, crying, and turning to my friend telling him to tell me i am wrong. I tell her I cannot be wrong for it is simply my opinion, point out how childish she is acting and that I am no longer interested in discussing it further with her. She goes back to her higher intelligence and ai laugh and tell her she sounds like my 8 year old nephew and uses the same tactics he does. She usually storms off at that point. I hate her so much.
Ps, I have a masters degree in Petro Engineering. She dropped of college her junior year while attempting to get a degree in English with a focus in modern poetry.
>not starting at the beginning
>"oh, I'll understand everything already without having the foundation of the entire political history of the world"
are you even literate nigger?
Read the classics in the western canon first. Then some philosophy. History of the world, etc. Then get deeper into 20th century writers like GK Chesterton, or jump way back to Thomas Aquinas
You can start there if you want but I view is as a waste of time. What Aristotle, Socrates, and other philosophers of antiquity discuss has no bearing on modern thinking or politics. They were hypothetical philosophers. You can study only them for your entire career and never know whether what you think is accurate because their works are open to interpretation. You benefit far more from picking up a "history of west" style textbook and reading it. Will do a much better job of focusing on the most relevant philosophers and trains of thought without weighing you down with more than you could possibly understand.
Older academic history books. Don't read it if it says "sociology" anywhere.
Then read the newer books that probably have "sociology" in the title. You should notice a major decline in unbiased education.
Read up on major wars and the issues that caused them. Learn about the key players in those Wars. More than one source should be used, because people often insert their shitty opinions.
All news sources should be ignored. Only use them to know (x) event happened and nothing else. They don't know the motive and there's a 99% chance it's either an opinion piece, biased, or part of a paid-off agenda.
Don't listen to your friends or family. There's a good chance their opinions are also parroted.
Read. Question yourself. Question others. Sup Forums has real discussion threads every so often. Get in the thick of those, ask questions. Get the big picture and then question more. Don't devolve it into an argument, evolve it into challenging your own and others' thoughts.
Most of all, try not to get emotional. Trying to be as desensitized and objective as possible is what will shape your ideas. Once you have to go by facts, you're quick to start questioning people that even say they believe what you do, because their conclusion is probably stupid.
Have fun. History and politics can be a doozy.
Haha can you watch a game of football and by the end of it have a sufficient understanding of what its all about? Or do you need to start with the rules and practices of the first teams to get there? You're just a cunt who thinks studying greek philosophers is necessary to understand modern politics. You probably quote them while talking to women and think you are impressing them.
> Where do I start for things like history? What should I read about from history to have a decent lens to view current events through?
> you must start at the very beginning in order to have a DECENT lens into current events
Pretentious faggot.
Look at numbers. Flow of history.
Most importantly of all
Understand georgraphy shapes all politics
There is nothing new under the sun. Every issue that emerges when a people leave primitive ways behind and found a civilization has already been extensively mapped by the Greeks. They are the founders of western civilization, the highest achievement of man, after all.
Read works by the father of history, Herodotus.
Read the history of the peloponnesian war by Thucydides. Modern politics are no different than the politics of old. When you understand that Greek elites conspired with foreign kingdoms to overthrow their own government to spite and vex the plebes 2500+ years ago, and notice the parallels with how Western elites behave today, you will have completed the circle.
Study past civilizations. Rome is a great one, because you read works of the Roman senators and you realize, the human condition hasn't really changed all that much in 2,000 years. Cicero has a lot of lessons to teach about government.