I like politics. I don’t know why, but I do. I have since I was a kid. Through the years, I have seen this country change. And it has changed for the worse. I saw these changes but could never figure out what was going on. Well, my friend showed me this video. Nothing special. Just a conservative arguing against a liberal. Nothing really new if you watch news shows. But this single segment got me thinking. Watch it and see if you can see the problem:

The first thing I thought was why these two have opinions that are so extreme?

You catch it? These people were not talking to each other. They were yelling. Now, a little background. Tucker Carlson is a right wing conservative (alt-right if you wish) and Lisa Durden is a left wing liberal (the term “alt left” is being used now). Durden is on Carlson’s show so Carlson has the home field advantage. Durden probably knows Carlson is an attacker and decided, right off, to take the initiative from him (hence the ranting). So neither, as far as I am concerned, looks like a hero or a villain. They both look passionate about their beliefs. Durden looked bad during the interview but she had the balls to be on a conservative talk show with an aggressive host, so I will give her a lot of leeway. Carlson asked some very simple questions that were not answered because of Durden’s rants, but he is the host. He controls the show and has the upper hand.

So what is my point?

My point is: They are probably both right…and both wrong. Blacks have been victimized throughout our history. As a matter of fact, I think they dealt with crap up till the late 70’s. Terrible things. But I also think that things have really improved for them in the past thirty years (we have had a Black President). One cannot compare the trials that a forty year old Black person goes through today is anything like it was prior to about 1980. Yes, there is police brutality and racism but not as widespread as is being made out by groups like the New Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter.

Likewise, we must accept that there are bad police and there is still racism (by the way, racism is not just a White person’s issue). We cannot just say things are better and ignore what certain groups say. For example, we cannot ignore the police that are brutal just because most are good people trying to do a difficult job.

But this applies to all opinions in politics. Everything has grey area. Very little out there is black or white. Take abortion. I am no proponent of abortion. But does that mean ALL abortion is unacceptable? I do not think so. There are times that abortion is completely justified in my opinion (rape, incest, health of the mother or viability of the child). I cringe when I hear some dumb politician say that rape is not a good enough reason to allow an abortion. It is so cold and insensitive.

Here is the problem with seeing things only in extremes: it means that any other viewpoint is wrong and should not be listened to. It stifles debate and creates chasms between points of view. We see that happening right now in the political world. Our country is being fractured by race, gender, political views and religion because both sides know they are absolutely right and will not listen to dissenting opinions.

In the past, the country was made up of Republicans and Democrats with some Libertarians (that’s me) thrown in. But today it is conservatives and liberals. There is no middle. And that is a problem because each group is absolutely right and will not listen to another opinion. So they fight and obstruct each other.

For me, I know I am not the smartest guy in the world. I am also wary of anyone who tells me his stand is the one correct stand. I am not afraid to debate, listen, learn and, hopefully, educate. I know that the world is not black and white but many different shades of grey. When I listen to someone with a different, sometimes I learn something that shapes my opinion. But, usually, discussing things with someone who has different opinions makes me feel better about my opinions. That is how debating someone should feel.

Follow my on Twitter @RunninFewl

Pictures courtesy of:
brainhulklogicsmash.blogspot.com
bbc.com
politico.com