Reply #16: I lived in Idaho for over a decade, and I ran into some of both. [View All]

[Political Heretic]

I had discussions with strong conservatives that were thoughtful, and the conservatives themselves were reasonable and friendly - would listen, allow one to finish speaking, and actually take information provided and read it (I would do the same, in the interest of fair-minded exchange.)

I had one "discussion partner" at work that went even beyond that, this guy was just awesome. I can't lie about it. However he did not identify as republican, but rather as conservative and independent. And yet, he wasn't a libertarian crazy. To top it all off, he was a conservative Christian too. Yet to my shock he was kind and gentle, and not trying to shove God down anyone's throat.

He and I would talk for hours sometimes, and he would listen as much as talk. And in return I listened to him to, instead of just waiting for my turn to speak. We were both formally trained in critical thinking, which I know sounds weird to say. But we had a weird job. And as part of it, we studied critical thinking and logical analysis as a technical discipline. Not juts "critical thinking" as an undefined catch-phrase. But rather the true nuts and bolts of quality cognitive evaluation and judgment making.

I think that made all the difference in the world. I would be able to better set aside my ideological fervor and really carefully listen to arguments he was making, and he could do the same. The result was that many times I was able to accept a certain concern he had about an issue as valid, but then suggest that there was a better, more responsible way to address the concern than what common conservatism could offer.

Over time, we got to the place that we joked that we should be co-president and we could change the world. Just a joke, we're not truly that egotistical.

I wrote a lot about that because I was feeling nostalgic. But on the other hand, in Idaho I ran into countless first-class hate-filled irrational jackasses. People just filled with seething disdain, who challenge Michael Savage as though he was a god.