How Much Does My Oppinion Leader(s) Influence Me?

Just how much does my opinion leaders influence me?

I will readily admit that it is way too much. First of all, I must say that when we picked an opinion leader and rated ourself, I didn't pick just one. I don't really look up to one person more than other people, but I definitely have a certain group of people that I look up to more than anyone else. These people exist mostly within affinity groups of musicians, and theologians/philosophers.

With any given opinion leader, it is very likely that I might just say I believe the same thing they do about a certain thing if I don't much about it.

Take Mike Portnoy, the drummer for...well...you guessed it, Dream Theater. Not only do his opinions of music fall almost identically in line with mine. When I first went to his website, and looked around a bit, I expected to find a list of simply progressive rock and metal bands in his "favorite albums" list, but I was stunned to find out that The Beatles were his favorite band of all time, which I would have never expected from a Prog metal drummer. Other of his softer favorites (along with the harder stuff like Metallica, Slayer, and Pantera of course)included Elton John, Jellyfish, Peter Gabriel, U2, Radiohead, and even the Beachboys. His collection of favorite albums is still the closest to mine I think I've ever seen. What became even scarier when I clicked on his list of all time "favorite films" was that it was eerily closer to mine than anyone elses list I think I've ever seen. All this combined with the fact that he is a great drummer makes him a huge oppinion leader in my life. Way too much in fact. One of the biggest disadvantages to having this strange "link" to a celebrity is that I will make his opinions mine even before I've watched/listened to any of the media he loves. I have found myself answering people in response to questions like "What do you think of Public Enemy?" and telling them I thought they were awesome when I've never even listened to them just because "Fear of a Black Planet" is one of Portnoy's favorite albums of all time. If you want to look at his lists, feel free. Favorite films

Favorite Albums

The same thing applies for theologian/philosophers that I have a lot of respect for like William Lane Craig. Because I think he has defended the existence of God in such an articulate, balanced, yet sensitive manner, I find myself usually being much more comfortable with a position that I have on an issue just because he holds it. I feel like I have a good, balanced, and well thought out opinion, even if they only reason I hold it is because he does, which is of course completely wrong-headed. I would write more, but I have to blog some more.