  There are those who accept the beliefs of people of authority (Jesus, God, Buddha, Parents, George Bush, John Kerry), then find arguments as to why they believe what they do. There are those who listen to all possible arguments, then attempt to make a rational decision about what they believe. We've all heard this. Despite this, even the most closed-minded who have heard it simply apply it to those around them (ignoring that they are the very ones the advice is trying to help), and continue to live in ignorant bliss. My obsession has become to reach total internal consistency - having a belief system based upon complete objective, rational thought. The problem is, I can't stop. Constantly questioning everything I believe leads to thought spirals that don't stop until my brain hurts. Maybe nobody can truly live up to the ideal, yet I've been trying to. It's incredibly difficult to form an opinion in this state of mind. I can't truly "believe" anything, I'm always waiting for more data. When I argue with people, it's always from a detached, playful standpoint; I don't actually believe what I'm arguing for.
I get especially confused when thinking about my stance on controversial political issues. With two sources of data, each polarized heavily toward each side, I not only have to question what the data means, but where it's coming from. (The Liberal Media, The Right-Wing Media) It may be that being ignorant and simply assuming a certain belief is a necessary evil.
I see people all the time, everywhere, who walk around with complete and total inner peace, completely assured that their beliefs are the right one. (Note: this is why I find I fit to the philosophy of "liberalism" rather than "conservativism" - extremists on both sides make the same closed-minded mistake of not thinking about their beliefs rationally (you could also argue that extremist liberals are actually conservatives with a different set of beliefs (this will be the third nesting of parenthesis), but a true "liberal," by definition, will be open-minded and analyze all their beliefs rationally).
Not to get too "Philosophy 101," but could it be that there is no such thing as completely objective truth? That was fun. Maybe I can get a frontal lobotomy, and my mind will stop making endless "pro" and "con" lists whenever i have to make any minor decision. info.link: urlLink http://www.blogsnow.com/ 
