Forming and Defending an Opinion – A Clear Stance on a Critical Issue

Forming and Defending an Opinion – A Clear Stance on a Critical Issue

My choice of social issue for this assignment is gun violence, and I stand strongly against it and support any measures taken to reduce gun violence. The reason for my stand is based on the extremely concerning impacts of gun violence. According to Panchal (2024), guns are now the top leading cause of death among children and adolescents, surpassing accidents caused by car crashes or any other illness. Subsequently, the increase in gun-related deaths for children doubled between the year 2018 and the year 2021 (Panchal, 2024). Data from the year 2022 indicated that gun violence was still the top cause of death among children, making it the third year in a row. Seeing this devastating trend, I believe it is critical to address gun violence and how to bring a stop to it, especially in regard to children and their safety.

The formation of this opinion is based on what I witness on the regular news about a reckless shooting or a mass shooting in a school or a public place, just to name a few. One of the things that makes me and other individuals anxious in crowded areas or parents anxious about taking their kids to school every day is gun violence. Things that used to be safe and enjoyable have now become dangerous, and people have to be on guard everywhere they go. In addition, if a firework were to go off in a public setting, many people would run for cover, mistaking it for a gunshot.  Secondly, I am well-informed about the facts and statistical data related to gun violence, all of which played a role in the formation of my opinion.

The cognitive processes and biases I applied to form this opinion include both system-1 and system-2 thinking. I believe that for any person, the term gun violence intuitively causes a negative emotional response, especially the word violence. Nevertheless, with more research, having conversations with peers, and seeing the numerous reports of shooting on the regular, I engaged in reflective thinking, which only enforced my initial stand.

Some of the elements that may have influenced my opinion on gun violence include heuristic and cognitive biases. The heuristic, which is predicated on an individual’s initial gut reaction (Peter & Gittens, 2015), may have shaped my understanding of the problem in relation to gun violence. Confirmation bias, or the tendency to seek evidence to back up a position, is a type of cognitive bias that may have also shaped my opinions. Nevertheless, I try to counteract these biases by actively seeking diverse perspectives and evaluating evidence from multiple sources. Lastly, for dominance structuring, which is the process of organizing and prioritizing evidence to support a desired decision or belief (Peter & Gittens, 2015), in forming my opinion on gun violence, I prioritized data and arguments that highlight the adverse effects of firearms and the benefits of a society with no gun violence. This process helped me develop a rational and well-supported standpoint on the subject.

References

Panchal, N (2024). The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Adolescents. KFF. Accessed from: https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-and-adolescents/

Peter, F., & Gittens, C. A. (2015). Think Critically. Pearson

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Consider one of the following current social issues – or one of your choice:

Gun violence
Racism
Economic inequality
Sexism
Violent crime
Immigration
For the initial post, address the following:

State your position on one of these issues – are you for, against, or neutral? Explain why. Avoid vagueness or ambiguity in your response. Make your position very clear.

Forming and Defending an Opinion – A Clear Stance on a Critical Issue

Examine how you have formed that opinion.
How well do you think you know the facts?
Do you know and understand statistical information that applies to the issue?
Do you think you have formed your opinion using only System-1 thinking, or have you applied System-2?
What part have heuristics, cognitive bias, and dominance structuring played in how you have formed your opinions?
The initial post is not about how “correct” your position is; it is about how you arrived at your position on the issue. This discussion requires the application of metacognition – thinking about how you think.