It aggravates me when I hear people talk who clearly have no idea what they are talking about. There have been a number of topics in the news lately that I have _wanted_ to comment on but simply won’t because I know I don’t have the whole picture. For instance, there has been a lot of outrage over Bush’s use of wiretaps in his pursuit of national security. A lot of people are up in arms about it, calling for his impeachment (as if _that’s_ unusual; apparently, impeachment is the answer for everything) and calling his term the worst in history. First of all, that sort of rhetoric is becoming very old and tired; we hear it with every single president. Secondly, there are places where wiretapping without warrants is illegal, but I have to wonder if Bush isn’t within his rights to do what he’s doing. I honestly can’t comment at any great length because I don’t have enough information about the situation to say anything. I can only point out the fact that I can see both sides of the issue, and frankly, I’m not terribly worried.

Another example — the Colts lost their first and only playoff game this past weekend, after running a regular season record of 14-2, with a 13-game winning streak to start out. A lot of Indianapolis locals are calling for a change of coaching staff and possibly even some of the starting lineup. I watch just enough football to know that I enjoy it more than I used to and that I back the Colts; they’re a great team. I don’t know enough to know what the cause for Sunday’s abysmal performance was. Personally, I think they just choked under the pressure, but again, there are a lot of logistics to the game about which I am unaware. And so I reserve my opinion for now, until that point when I opt to take the time to educate and inform myself further. At the very least, this is likely the last and only time my opinion on these two examples will ever be heard.

I wish more of our leaders would do the same. I watch political and religious leaders alike make these horribly inaccurate statements, saying things that make them and the organizations they represent look like a collection of fools. Knee-jerk reactions are evermore becoming the rule, as people race to voice their opinions, to turn the cameras and the lights onto themselves, rather than patiently waiting for more information before forming opinions and declaring them. Apparently, everyone’s in a big rush to get things done, to make themselves look good, that the quality of work is negligible — no one knows what it means to be patient or to exercise wisdom, and I think that is terribly unfortunate. I just wish more people would take more time to inform themselves before firing off ridiculous statements that anyone can see are painfully inaccurate.

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