Photo Courtesy of Caribb via Flickr
When Time magazine arrived at my home every week, I used to read through articles as I slowly munched away at my breakfast.
I felt that I had a responsibility to know what was happening in my country. It made me feel like I could easily jump into conversations about politics.
But one day, during a class debate about Obamacare, I found myself spewing off sentences from an article I had read — even though I didn’t fully understand it. But, there I was, arguing the author’s perspective like it was my own. Unconsciously, my thoughts and the information I had read had melded together.
Since then, I’ve become more critical of the news. I read multiple articles on the same topic and don’t settle for the first piece of information I find. I used to think that I was fulfilling my civic duty by staying up to date with the news. But now I know it’s important to understand the news, not just hear about it.