Belief

Our beliefs are one of the most important aspects of our lives. They shape our understandings of the world and influence the emotions about the things we experience everyday. The strength, in which we believe in things, can vary. The beliefs can affect our capacity to reason logically and to recognize valid arguments that seem contrary to our beliefs.

If someone has held a strong belief about a certain thought or idea for a long time, her ability to accept and comprehend what a person with an opposing view point can be greatly hindered. For example, both of my parents were raised, and therefore raised me, to believe that material items have very little significance. My entire life I have always believed that it is not necessary to buy extravagant things and be wasteful with money. Recently, in my neighborhood, the Town of Chevy Chase, there has been a huge debate about the moratorium on building giant houses. My parents and I are on the side of the moratorium; we don't believe that just because people have the money they should tear down perfectly fine old houses. However, the people who want their big houses say that if they have the money and they want a big house to live in, then they should be allowed to build it. Since my parents and I have held the belief that material things are not important, we find it difficult to understand the opposing argument. We find it hard to comprehend why they think that having a huge house is necessary. Although the people who believe differently than I could definitely have a suitable argument, my values prevent me from being able to reason and understand it.

Often times the beliefs that we hold the strongest are the ones that have been instilled in us since birth. These beliefs are usually the ones that affect the judgments we make and how we reason with people. Sometime during my sophomore year I had an experience with someone with an opposite belief than me, I was not able to believe that this person had a valid argument opposing my belief. We were in a class picking groups and I suggested to my friend that we be in a group with another girl in my class. The girl happened to be African American. My friend made a very racist comment about not wanting the girl in my group, and then said how she believed