Not to Forget

There is a great deal that I do not know or understand. No surprise there.

However, there are a few things about which I have a pretty good amount of insight. And every now and then, something happens to remind me of one of them, which means I feel compelled to communicate it again. Here is one of them:

It is O.K. - in fact its often a very good thing - to have very strong opinions about controversial issues. The same can be said for expressing those opinions to others. With one exception.

If you can not give an objective, fair and thorough summary of the best reasons people have for their contrary opinion on the same subject, then you have not earned the privilege of joining the dialog. Why? Because if all you understand is your own rationale, then your opinion is really nothing more than a sophisticated sounding version of ignorance. You live in a hall of mirrors, only respect people who agree with you, and in fact, practice the worst kind of censorship - on your own mind.

Usually, issues are controversial because they are too complex for one group of people to understand sufficiently on its own, which opens the way for folks who could use some therapy to pretend instead that all they want is to make the world a better place.

In a culture that deserves to survive, there exists a substantial difference between a public debate about social issues, and the Jerry Springer Show.

Here is challenge #1 to all my peers, friends, rivals, students and acquaintances: whenever you hear me state a strong opinion on a controversial subject, call me on it. Make me argue for the other side for a while, and insist that I can make their arguments at least as well as they do. (I'll do so for this very article, if anyone asks.) Then, of course, I will insist that I have earned the right to spend the same amount of energy expressing my own viewpoint.

Here is challenge #2: Until you can do the same, keep your mouth shut on controversial issues. The world will be a better place, which is what we all say we want anyway.