It takes a couple of things, being observant and curious, listening to both sides with an objective stance, paying attention to what the arguments each side has, paying attention to the results, the "fruits" of an ideology,, paying attention to heretics within a system, are they still around, what happened to them, paying attention to your own beliefs and remembering where they came from, who taught you? Who taught those who taught you? Motives of others, who benefits? Curiosity to me is the first sign of intelligence. Knowing in your gut, yes your gut, that many things do not add up. For me, it started in church as a young girl, the hypocrisy, it was very disappointing to me, I was quite pious. Then Viet Nam happened and it touched my generation very hard, neighborhood boys of 18, high school sweethearts, swept up in a draft, for some "enemy" that was threatening no one here on USA soil, no one. The nation was going full speed ahead, we were strong economically, we were going to the moon! There was not so much welfare, but true poverty, I mean real poverty, was rare, some had less than others, but they still had work and dignity and a place they could call home. The more the government got involved, the more poor people we had. For many of us, we met one person who impressed us, who gave us information we had never heard before, (before internet, these were real people in real time), We researched from books that were sometimes hard to find, and then we shared this with others. Some became interested, some were just only able to see the world in their small box, and nothing else mattered except what was in front of them, Seeing a lot of the world as a game, and not wanting to participate anymore, getting off the wheel after realizing that some power that had access to everything really wanted you to stay on that wheel.A series of shocks in your personal life,, learning that there are metaphors about the game (the man behind the curtain). Asking in prayer every single morning for God to light your path and show you the truth,,and the courage to see it, all of it, and then asking what you should do to be of his service.