The discussions in the country are often confrontational and unpleasant. I think that if we could just agree on a few facts, we'd all have a basis for better interactions.
We often get into heated discussions and take sides, when in reality there are many right "sides" to an issue. What do I mean? Take a look at some complicated subjects:
Global competition: It makes products much cheaper, it integrates countries economically and makes the world a safer place but…
Global competition: …it keeps wages in our country low because there are always cheaper wage markets
Environmental regulation: It places US companies at a disadvantage versus countries where the environment isn't regulated, however…
Environmental regulation: …it makes our world more livable and sustainable, and is often economically profitable
Democracy: It is cumbersome, confrontational, and it never completely solves problems because everything is a tortured compromise but…
Democracy: …peoples' voices are heard, and things eventually do change for the better
Religion: Causes some to justify unspeakable horrors and keeps them empathizing with the plight of others. Nonetheless…
Religion: …it inspires people to make remarkable sacrifices with the sole aim of alleviating the suffering of others
Technology: Replaces human employment and stifles human interaction, but it also…
Technology: …frees people to pursue higher-level work, to communicate with more and different people, and allows them to create previously-unimaginable inventions
The Stock Market: Is a complicated game where some unscrupulous insiders take advantage of regular people, but it also is…
The Stock Market: …an efficient way to get capital from investors to creators and is the best way to invest for the future
The United States: Is an overbearing colossus that often ignores humanity in the pursuit of wealth and, at the same time, it is…
The United States: …the most openly free society and the greatest catalyst for good the world has ever known
Political Correctness: A ridiculous suffocation of the freedom of speech but it is just as much a…
Political Correctness: …sensitive reaction to society's past injustices and hatreds
Cash: is the best defense against an uncertain economy but it is…
Cash: …inefficient, un-deployed capital
Fossil Fuels: Are the destructive source of all environmental problems ever created by mankind but simultaneously are…
Fossil Fuels: …responsible for virtually all of the technological, agricultural, medical, and engineering progress in the last century
Butter: Is an artery-clogging fat and also…
Butter: …good for you!
Television: Is often a mind-sucking time-waster while also being…
Television: …our eyes and ears to the rest of the world
The solutions to the world's problems are not the 10-second sound bites we often hear, but far more rich and complex. I think if we kept an open mind and tried to understand that the opposite of what we think might also be true, we'd all have much better conversations.