A wildlife preserve for the politically open-minded.

2011-11-14T18:59:00.000Z

I decided to create this blog because I'm not willing to give up on the concept of reasoned, civil discourse on political issues. I'm close, but I'm not there just yet. From time to time, even as my views on individual issues have changed, I've called myself a "moderate" or a "centrist," but those terms have lost much utility in today's rancid political environment. Calling myself a centrist or a moderate had certain connotations, e.g., reasonableness, accommodation, a willingness to compromise, etc. They suggested a certain humility about political rights and wrongs, and a predisposition towards a questioning nature -- not only as to the beliefs and positions taken by others, but also towards my own. Perhaps, more importantly, they reflected the belief that the resolution of important political positions required balancing both philosophical and practical considerations and analyses of potential short-term and long-term consequences. In short, they required you to be open-minded.

On political issues, people don't seem to be very open-minded anymore. People seem organized by political "teams" in a way that never seemed to be the case before, most often under the umbrellas of our two major political parties, but just as often using the mantras of "liberal" and "conservative."

This blog is dedicated to that vanishing breed: the politically open-minded.

Who are we?

¶ We are not only willing to respectfully hear the viewpoints of others, but we actually are ready, willing, and able to change our minds based upon reasoned arguments and evidence.

¶ We work hard to stay at least reasonably well-informed.

¶ We do not demonize the "blue" or the "red," and believe that both sides want the best for themselves and their fellow citizens, even though their approaches may appear very different.

¶ We believe that the polarization of the country into two camps at election time does not necessarily mean that the country is hopelessly divided, but, perhaps, only that political parties have found techniques for cleaving us in two.

¶ We believe that governance requires a system that enables the peaceful and forward-moving coexistence of all citizens, include those who disagree fundamentally on important matters.

¶ We are people who often think that the competing "ideologies" or "parties" have resulted in the formulation of policies and programs that haven't been thought through in any rigorous way and which, more often than not, are done in willful ignorance of their potential consequences.

If you fall into this category, perhaps you will join us here.

Politiphobe

A wildlife preserve for the politically open-minded.