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2. The remarkable ability to accept one set of facts as the Gospel, while rejecting another set of facts as nothing more than a bunch of lies.
3. Choosing ideology over objective thinking. Declaring oneself a liberal or a conservative is the equivalent of taking a math test and writing the number 5 in all the blanks. There will be times when you are dead on. There will be times when you will be close to correct. And there will be times when you are disastrously wrong.
I do think we all care about clean water and safe food. It's how those get defined & legislated and paid for where we disagree.
Same for safe communities, but then it's the level of safety and how to achieve it.
It would be nice to think people care about all children, but there's more than enough evidence that some people don't (see college admissions scandal, though I don't consider it "terrible" and surely the lawsuits are all going to be groundless).
As to high rises replacing our personal favorite movie theater, or building B replacing "treasured building A", that's definitely subject to debate and disagreement.
For those inclined to debate and disagree, yes, almost anything is fertile ground.
My point is, without the media, and without the internet, this country wouldn't be locking horns with each other, calling some *******s and some trumpsters.
By and large, we get along. And enjoy each other, and care about each other. And can behave perfectly civilly.
Disagree.
There was civil war before media as we know it today, or the internet. Millions died.
We care about each other with many conditions.
This is a great thread. So often we lose sight of the fact that we are all more than a vote. We are going to go to a phonograph preview auction with a dear friend. He's a Trump supporter and listens non stop to Rush. We are never Trumpers, yet, we love and respect each other and get along just fine. He won't talk to me about politics. He's very low information and prefers to live in his right wing bubble. That's fine, I respect it. He will always be a treasured friend no matter who he votes for. I have this image of him forever burned in my memory. His wife almost died (the first one died in her 40's) and he was kneeling at her bed praying and crying. It didn't matter who he voted for. I just hugged him. It broke my heart to see him in so much pain. Presidents will come and go, but good friends are forever.
Great post. Thank you. We have a friend like that too, a very generous soul, with a big heart. But "low information" , Fox, Trump.
I'd say most things are in common short of the definition of some....and, of course, of superstition. But when it comes to superstition, it's really a matter of whether it affects me or society.
Anti-vax types are as likely to be left, center or right as anything else.
So, anyway, I'd say most people have most decent things in common. It's only when they label things that the "fun" starts.
I would consider myself a radical leftist, which means I sit right about center in a place like Denmark or Portugal, etc.
And yet most all of my volunteer work has been done with Jesuits and with Christian orgs. In the case of the former, they are probably labeled "left" since Jesuits are anti-war, tolerant, etc.
In the case of the later, there are actually some Christian efforts which are really Christian - Habitat, meals on wheels, etc. - that is, they base on Christian values. But those are UNIVERSAL VALUES.
If we removed all the 65+ population out of the equation, I'd think the country would be a lot more reasonable. Being that age myself it may seem like a strange thing to say - but looking at demos, Fox News and Hate Radio and all that tends to appeal to a MUCH older audience and then that finances it and it spreads to younger folks.
My MIL is 98 and she is starting to decline. In rehab they asked her about the President(s) to test her mind. Out came "Obama wasn't born here" - ONLY because she was 94 when she heard it 24/7/365 on her radio down in Florida. The PT worker nicely corrected her!
However, this shows some of the problem. Allowing all this hate to be spewed to people who can't process it was well (and she is SMART) creates a problem.
Anyway, I think most good things are agreed upon...but some people (many?) have a very short term thinking and aren't into the "think 7 generations ahead" type of planning. In our system that creates a certain selfishness (I don't want to pay taxes. I don't want to pay $5 more for something made with less pollution) that isn't a good thing, IMHO.
Things that the right and left agree on, for better or worse, imo. Broad support for Israel, love of animals, improving infrastructure, care for the elderly and veterans, support for defense contractors, anti-dictatorships.
What we have in common is the Human condition: The battle between heart and mind.
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