I don’t know about you, but I never have really considered myself the best political debater, but a conversation with a co-worker got me to thinking about how important it is to share ideas, converse, and verbally spar. Even though I have a set of political beliefs, I so rarely talk about them with people who have other points of view. When you find the right type of person, it can be a lot of fun. The key seems to be willingness to listen from both parties. It also seems important to come at the conversation knowing that you probably won’t change their minds.
In my most recent debate with Conservative Guy, we started getting down to the nitty gritty issues. How much should the federal government be involved? Do we pay too much or too little in the way of taxes? Who’s better to have in charge, the feds or the state government? Since I stay out of politics at this level much of the time, I’ve had few chances to verbalize my thoughts on these issues. Lately, though, my beliefs are getting honed, and it’s thanks to conversations such as these.
My sense about many Americans is that we are loathe to get beyond the polite conversation, afraid of the onslaught of opposing viewpoint. Correct me if I’m wrong! We need a healthy dose of debate to sharpen our ideas. Bring it on!