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<time datetime="0001-01-01 00:00:00 &#43;0000 UTC">1 January 0001</time>

July 22, 2024 #

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

We are sorely in need of meaningful political debate.

Meaningful political debate depends on respect for the opposition. There is give and take. We listen to the words of others and make our best attempt at understanding what they are saying.

Meaningful debate attends to the logic of an argument, regardless of who is making the argument. Ad hominem attacks are rejected.

Meaningful debate relies on dispassionate acceptance of facts. We gather relevant data relating on the question at hand and analyze those data with trustworthy methods.

Talk of “alternative facts” has no place in meaningful debate. Fiction and lies are recognized for what they are—prevarication or attempts to avoid debate.

Avoiding political debate is antithetical to democracy. We must accept the conclusions of arguments just as we accept the results of elections. The rules of evidence are paramount. The votes prevail.

If we truly want to “make America great again,” we can look to past American experience of political debates with respect for the opposition. Consider, for example, the classic debates between conservative William F. Buckley and liberal Gore Vidal, as documented in Best of Enemies (2015).

When a two-party system fails to provide an environment for meaningful political debate, one party must assume that role.

Anticipating the future, we can envision factions emerging within the Democratic Party. Imagine progressive, liberal, centrist, and (even) conservative Democrats arguing with one another.

Unity (after winning an election) is highly overrated. Meaningful political debate requires diversity of opinion.

Check out this documentary film: #

  • Best of Enemies. 2015. Magnolia Pictures. See Wikipedia overview.