How to think for yourself and avoid the herd mentality

      Spend some quiet time every day. Walk every day if you can, and don't try to walk as fast as others. It's not a competitive sport. Define yourself daily, and be ready to make that a redefinition as you learn new things.

     Choose your sources of information wisely. Don't read trash when you can read quality, but read. Get news from PBS or Public Radio for perspective; watch Fox, NBC, CBS and others for amusement. Read a local paper every day, but don't believe everything you hear or read.
     Put more stock in what the experts say, and less on the political spin or "talking points" of partisan politicians and their supporters.
     Too much push-back means never pulling together. That's how you get a rowboat to turn in circles.
     There is no "one sentence takeaway" to summarize an issue of substance.
     Politics is about contradictions and half-truths.  That's why public opinion is about 50 percent wrong -- or incomplete.
       
     "Everybody does it", "I'm not the only one who thinks so", and "It's popular" are the worst reasons in the world for not thinking for yourself.
     Ignore fools. Ignore polls, which seem to attract fools.
     Listen and watch. Think twice, speak once. When you express an opinion, put your name behind it.
    
     Being a friend is a better measure of you than how many friends you have. Friends may come and go, but you have to live with yourself for the duration.