Classical Liberal = Republican - Granite Grok

Classical Liberal = Republican

The assertion:

No classical liberal can, in America today, be member of the Democrat Party. Why? Because the ideology of the party does not allow free speech, free thought, debate or criticism of party dogma. As a democrat, it is an all or nothing proposition today . You either accept the dogma… or you are out. It’s sad really. The only big tent belongs the Republican Party.

Wisdom:

A part of wisdom is going outside your comfort zone and talking to people. Doing so takes a bit of courage and a willingness to listen to what you do not believe in. These days, even mingling with different beliefs is a controversial idea. It is hard to grasp the idea of Big Tech bigots listening to anything liberal. Just think of the censorship and deplatforming going on. Pushback against “the liberal experience” grows each passing year.

Think about the Kavanagh confirmation hearing. To the Democrats the nominee was guilty until proven innocent. The party most clearly polarized was the Democrat Party and their “MeToo” people. Their candidate Merrick Garland voted with Kavanaugh 93% of the time. There simply was little difference between them. All there was to the hearing was political theatre. There was little substance and much posturing.

For another example consider an argument; that widespread creationist beliefs are dangerous to scientific innovation in America. The point has been argued. It might be true, but there is a valid counter-point. There are creationist scientists. There are even quite a number who have made important discoveries and contributions to their fields. That might give us pause to question the perception. It should; shouldn’t it?

Life outside the safe space is enlightening

When we allow ourselves to venture outside our warm safe space we find a whole world out there. There are people like us and people not so very much like us. The interaction with them actually isn’t for the purpose of changing their minds. But maybe if there is interaction, debate and conversations, participants will be less likely to miss out on opportunity. Maybe common ground can be found. We might learn something…

Calls for “tolerating” other points of view are welcome. We all need to keep in mind that the most interesting thoughts come when the mind actually grapples with new and different ideas. More often than not today things are tinged with political ideology. That stifles creativity and blocks opportunity.

An opportunity for an enlightening exchange was avoided last year. Ben Shapiro challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to a debate. He offered money to make the event happen. Bizarrely she emphatically refused. You have to believe the exchange would have been entertaining, fun and possibly may have shown areas of common ground. The debate would have been a liberal opportunity.

Conclusion:

It is important to be able to explain why the other side’s ideas are wrong. That’s part of validating what we believe. It is not enough to simply believe something. From time to time we all should do a little honest soul searching. America needs these exchanges. Grappling with ideas, whether in an oversized ark, on the campaign trail, or the residence hall of a university is an American tradition. A liberal tradition abandoned by today’s Democrats; retained by Republicans.

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