Discussion #2

2). After reading Chapter 6 in its entirety, answer the following question posed on page 169:  Has there ever been a time when you stood your ground on an issue despite the risk of losing your friends or even a job?  Discuss how your critical-thinking skills helped you to stand firm.

I have never personally been in a situation where I had to be forced to stand my ground on an issue, especially not one that was so controversial that I would have to risk friendships or a job. But I have witnessed friends in similar situations mentioned above. I once had a friend who had no problem with speaking up in class, and voicing her opinon. One day, the class was discussing the subject on abortion, and the popular opinon in the class was pro-choice, while my friend, religious as she was, stood for pro-life. The class had a ball interrogating her, each person adding their own little reason as to why she was wrong. The class quickly became very hostile. Under all that pressuse, I watched as my friend never waivered from her opinion or her beliefs, as her classmates, peers, and friends badgered her. The discussion started to get into personal territiories and I was very impressed with the way she handled herself. She didnt become angry, or frustrated. She was the picture of togetherness. Once she was able to get a word in, and capture the floor of the audience, she held their attention and even got some people to start thinking otherwise. She didnt give into any of the barriers of critical thinking such as Conformity, because easily she could have agreed with all her peers just to be accepted even though she doesnt really feel the same way. Also she couldve given into the barrier of Fear of Challenge, everyone in that class had something to say to everything she had an argument for and that could have gotten in the way of her effectively standing up for an issue she believed in. Without her great critical-thinking skills, I dont think she would have gotten through to some of her classmates who didnt have a stance on the issue. I also feel that it made her a stronger person to stand up against what all your peers think, I feel like if she can do that, then there are few things in this world that she wont be able to do. Standing up to your peers and holding an unpopular position is a difficult task, and one that I to this day still struggle with, but hope to get a lot better in.