>>I don't think it matters that much. If people on either side of the Liberal/Conservative spectrum are equally intelligent, well informed, and free of character defects they will end up in pretty much the same position.
Whether the subject is about abortion, torture, capital punishment, or war and peace.
Nobody wants abortion, nobody wants to use torture, nobody wants to see people killed, and everyone wants peace.
But people with varying degrees of deficiency in any of these areas eg intelligence, education, and character can fall on either side of the Liberal/Conservative divide. That is when human waste products hit the fan.<<
Mary -
I respectfully, but pretty much completely disagree. I believe that intelligent, well educated, well informed people of good character can and do disagree on all of those subjects, because they differ in which moral aspects of the issues are most important to them.
I'm not saying that there aren't people whose views are informed more by their character defects or their lack of intelligence or information. There are such people, too, and they do tend to muddy the waters of political discourse grievously.
But I believe that although fundamental disagreements may exist between good people, particularly on the more difficult topics you mentioned, there is always the possibility of rational compromise if people can make the effort to understand each other.
Maybe I'm too optimistic. I've been accused of that.
- Allen |
