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Everyone Has a Personal Opinion

It’s possible to understand an opinion with which you disagree. It’s a requirement if you’re trying to debate that opinion. Otherwise you’re tilting windmills.

It’s possible to understand an opinion with which you disagree. It’s a requirement if you’re trying to debate that opinion. Otherwise you’re tilting windmills.

Of course I have opinions, some strong ones. No, I don’t think healthcare is a right. I like the idea of a border wall. I think as long as what you do doesn’t hurt someone else’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that should be legal. I think the government should be as small as possible. I think it’s wrong to give any advantage to any race in a truly equal society. I think we should strive for equality of opportunity instead of equality of outcome. Not everything with a racial or gender disparity is due to racism or sexism.

After reading those opinions, you’ve probably pigeonholed me into a category of conservative or republican or libertarian or something else. That’s fine. Everyone can be classified in some way. But just because I’m conservative with one opinion doesn’t mean I’m not liberal with another. For example, I don’t have a problem calling people by their preferred pronouns. I don’t have a problem with gay people getting married. I don’t have a problem with trans people serving in the military. I believe the US should have some kind of safety net to help out in certain times. I think corporations are too powerful and get away with too much. I think our government (including both Republican and Democratic administrations) is inherently corrupt.

I want what’s best for everyone, just like everybody else. With a country as diverse as ours (and yours, maybe?) we’re going to have a lot of different ideas on how to get there. We can’t find middle ground if we don’t first understand where everyone is starting.

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