Sunday, April 24, 2016

Disagreeing Agreeably

One of the things that most bothers me about the world today is intolerance of other's opinions.  You don't have to agree with other's opinions, but you should be able to at least see where they are coming from...

That annoying Christian "bigot" actually believes he's saving people from an eternity in Hell.  If he's right and I'm wrong, everyone I've convinced of my beliefs is fucked.

Most Pro Lifers honestly believe that abortion is murder, and that you are killing a living, breathing child with a soul.  It's still not right for them to ask the government to hold a gun to someone's head and tell them they can't have an abortion, but their argument about the sanctity of life still has merit.

The Minimum Wage is incredibly destructive to the low skilled, low income, and minorities, but people who favor it honestly believe it will help, and their motives are in the right place.

A person who fights against hate speech and offensive behavior has probably seen many an example of someone genuinely hurt by someone's thoughtless speech or actions.  It's still not okay to ask the government to shut people up, but their goal has merit.

Most people honestly think that what they believe is true, valuable, helpful and will make the world a better place.  Screaming insults at them or pretending their opinions have no value simply doesn't help, and is also lazy and mean.  People aren't evil just because they believe evil things.  They were taught these things, and have to be untaught.  Not by the government at the end of a gun, but by thoughtful people who can respectfully disagree.  Take some time to do this and you might find that you're the one whose wrong.  It sure has happened to me.

None of the above applies to professional pundits, politician's or lobbyist.  They argue for what will bring them more money or power.  It also doesn't apply to those who translate evil thought into evil action - like a terrorist or a lynch mob.

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