All of Nothing Thinking is Killing Us

Of course any Star Wars fan remembers the quote from Obi-Wan to Annakin "Only a Sith deals in absolutes". Many believe that line was written as a knock on George Bush. Personally I have no idea of George Lucas's politics and frankly would rather not know. I have heard enough celebrities prattle on about their world view. Conservatives have long been accused of seeing the world in only black or white and no shades of gray. The retort is that the left sees only shades of gray. Both are sometimes true and sometimes not. Total absolutes in our society in the wrong places is detrimental.

Some absolutes are important. Some aspects of morality are absolute. Murder is wrong. Adultery is wrong. I think most people can agree with that. Laws should be followed, but not be absolute. If Congress passes a law that I cannot practice my religion, that would be a law I would not follow. That of course is an extreme example that hopefully will never be enacted, but there are times for civil disobedience. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement proved that. What qualifies for righteous civil disobedience. This is where it gets dicey. Activists tend to think any law that rubs their cause the wrong way should be defied. This leads to protesters shutting down major roadways, streets etc. I leave their camp somewhat there. Anyone who believes in a cause is free to champion that cause. You are not entitled to disrupt the majority of your fellow citizens. I believe this from a moral stance, not a legal one, which means I don't endorse restricting the First Amendment, only self policing.

We hear continually of right wing absolutes, abortion, gay marriage, gun ownership, etc. I don't intend to talk much about them, as I believe the majority of conservatives are not absolute on these, and you can tune into any left wing site and see these talked about ad nauseum. The left is almost never accused of seeing the world in black and white. War is a black and white subject to many of the left. While many will say there are justified uses of force, a good bit of the left can never seem to give you an example.


Health care is another area where left ideas are absolute. If someone like me argues for a more private health care system, it is automatically assumed I support every bad outcome in the present system, whether by corruption, or oversight. Of course there are problems in the present system. Most debates about capitalism in the last few years have come down to the assumption that free market types defend the scandals of Enron and other corporate scandals. Once again, that is ridiculous. Under any system law breakers need to be punished. Additionally most free market types would agree that too often powerful criminals get better treatment. That is not capitalism to blame, but human nature. I would argue a large dose of faith would help there much more than socialism.

Why do I say absolutes are killing us? Political discourse has degenerated to opposing camps shouting and calling each other names. Political debate has always been tumultuous, but in recent times, TV debates degenerate, I believe because the producers believe that produces better ratings. They may be correct, but I don't see it that way. I myself, being a political junkie refuse to watch most debate shows because they are ridiculous. The nastiness also prevents us from talking about important issues on the national stage. Any discussion of race must be taken on by politically correct rules. The same in true with gender, sexual preference, and many other subjects. This does not further our society. I love to debate, but usually like to cut it off when the passions get too roused on one side or another. We cannot fix our world, if we can't find areas of agreement. Surely even the most ardent opponents in politics can find things to agree on, can't they? National politics seems to have become a scorched earth field. This is unfortunate.