Stupid Things You Hear All the Time, #79

The Stupid thing:

"My personal view is that __1__ is __2__. But I don't believe a __3__'s personal opinions should become government legislation."

Fill in the blanks:
1. abortion; United States involvement in the war; illegal immigration; the public education monopoly; gun ownership; etc.
2. right; wrong; good for the country; etc.
3. politician, legislator, public servant, president, senator, representative

Why this is a stupid thing to say:

A. Every law or policy that has ever been enacted by a government agency is an affirmation of one opinion at the expense of another. There is no other choice. This means that one group of politicians (and citizens) will get what they personally desire while another group will not.

B. In a healthy and functional social environment, candidates say what they really believe and desire, and the voter chooses which set of beliefs and desires are most worthy of his or her vote. Elected officials are then supposed to push the agendas they said they would.

What's really happening when you hear this particular stupid thing:

A politician wants to get elected, not for any noble reason, but because of the many very gratifying, influential and self-enriching perks that go along with public office. This politician does not think s/he can get a majority vote by being honest. So this stupid statement is supposed to win voters on one side of an issue by pretending to agree with them, while also winning voters on the other side by promising not to legislate based on an opinion with which they do not agree.

And as always, don't forget: such dishonest hedging and manipulation takes place at all levels of politics: parents, sports team owners, union leaders, executive presbyters, etc.