In any situation, progress requires discussion among people who have contrasting points of view.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In dev

It is often said that there are three sides in any argument. When two people are having a discussion it is common that each person will have their own opinion, memories, or feelings about what is being discussed. This may lead to bias and unwillingness to view a situation differently. This is why, in order for progress to be made, people must have the opportunity to listen to and learn from other points of view on any discussion. This can apply to a discussion as mundane as whether mint chocolate chip ice cream is better than strawberry, or as societal as politics.
When two politicians are discussing a topic, it is important that the news station, YouTube video, or whatever medium is featuring the discussion, acknowledge both sides of the issue. In any society, the people have a right to learn about a situation from both sides and to decide for themselves what they believe. Once again, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. This could not be truer than in the realm of political debate. In America, there are stereotypically Liberal specific news stations and Conservative specific news stations. This, however, is a flaw in our news system as people tend to hold strong to their beliefs that they receive from main stream news and ignore even the most logical of challenges. Whether it be from their upbringing, their college professors, or getting their news from their favorite celebrity, everyone has an inherent bias to one side or another in any type of discussion, particularly politics. Therefore, people tend to only watch news or listen to discussions from one side because they can do so comfortably without a fear of someone challenging their beliefs.
For progress to be made, people must overcome their fear of having their beliefs challenged in a discussion. When a debate is one-sided, it is easy to rely on previously held beliefs rather than broadening one`s view. However, it is important to view the world from more than one lens or worse, through rose colored glasses. When people are too afraid to see something from another point of view, they will be unable to create their own well-rounded opinion on the topic. In child development, it has been discovered that there are five levels of reading comprehension. The first involves believing everything read without a hint of doubt, while the fifth, which is college level and above, is when adults are able to read an article or story and decide for themselves if they believe what it says and what parts of it they dismiss as false or irrelevant. If progress is to be made in any situation, people must be able to get to stage five of reading comprehension by reading and being exposed to different viewpoints.
When a person has their beliefs challenged they may find a stronger appreciation for what they believe. As an example, if two lawyers are having a discussion about whether a certain person committed a crime, by listening to the other side, one may find that his side holds up by finding holes in the other lawyer`s opinion that he can use in the courtroom. It is similar to how explaining a concept to another student helps some people study. Listening to counter arguments can not only give a person a more well-rounded view of a situation, but also a stronger belief and stronger reasons for what they believe.
Finally, on a grander scale, if people were unable to learn from or listen to different points of view, we would be no different from the dictatorships and communist regimes of the past. If, in America, discussions were censored so that only one side could be learned, there would be no diversity of thought and no opportunity to grow academically or emotionally by hearing multiple viewpoints. It can be uncomfortable to have one`s beliefs challenged, but without that challenge, one may not even know exactly why they believe what they believe.