Agreeing to Disagree
Reposting a comment I made on a friend’s blog, Hazardous Morals. From the original post (which is largely about something else):
A confession: I have never been able to just “agree to disagree” with American conservatives, to just see politics as a place where reasonable people can simply hold differing values and preferences. I feel a little guilty about this. Very Serious People are not supposed to succumb to this kind of demonization of the other side.
My comment (adapted slightly):
I wonder if your “moral failing” is simply the result of inexperience, like a sort of liberal provincialism? That’s meant as an honest question, not as a criticism. If you’ve always been of a certain political bent, and have typically been surrounded by others with similar or identical views, then it’s probably harder to see those that disagree with you as anything but “the other.”
For example, if most of your contact with conservatives and their views is through a media lens, then you’re like my grandmother, whose only experience with minorities is through the negative portrayals that she sees on the evening news.
That’s also not to say that “agreeing to disagree” is always the better course, but it’s easier to do if you’re disagreement is with your parents, friends, or younger self (through time travel, I guess).
Update - There was some thoughtful discussion of this post on Google Buzz and Adam responded to my original comment.
