From Thomas Sowell:
Most people on the right have no problem understanding people on the left because many, if not most, were on the left themselves when they were younger. But many, if not most, people on the left find it inexplicable how any decent and intelligent person could be on the right.
For the most part, I agree with this quote. I also would believe the same about anybody on the left who had started out on the right. If you’ve been there, you understand, even if you don’t believe it. What concerns me is that people who completely don’t understand the “other” side are the ones who talk the loudest. After all, it’s not as if the great majority of the people aren’t interested in the same things. I don’t think there are very many people who want to see our societal problems go unsolved, I just think that people have very different ideas on how to go about solving those problems.
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It’s a false premise, though. People on the right are just as likely, if not more, to repeat stereotypes of people on the left. Take the concept of “big government.” Rights dig the public teat, they just want dollars spent on corporate and military, rather than human, services.
Oh, no doubt. I don’t think either side is immune to hyperbole and misstatement. I don’t think either side is more or less likely to use disingenuous rhetoric. But I do think that, for the most part, people have genuinely good motives behind their beliefs. Among Us, at least.