Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Philosophy Trumps Politics

I'm currently having a conversation on a political topic, and I'm actually almost enjoying it. Part of the reason for this is that most, if not all of the participants are being fairly respectful, which is refreshingly rare for a political discussion. Another reason I'm enjoying the conversation is that it's helping me to think about my beliefs and opinions in a way that encourages me to evaluate them and potentially reconsider some of them. This is also refreshingly rare for the shouting matches that occasionally pass for political discussions. I would much rather talk about philosophy than argue about politics, and this conversation I'm having feels more like a philosophical debate than a political one.

Of course, preferring philosophy over politics is a personal opinion, and I expect that some people get more of a thrill out of political debates than they get out of philosophical musings, and that's fine. My philosophy is that as long as you're not hurting anyone, you can do what you want. If you and your pals want to argue and debate, go for it. Personally, I find such arguments draining, and I find philosophical arguments interesting. Whatever floats your boat.

But what I'm most grateful for right now is that I live in a country where people can speak their minds and share their opinions. Certainly, people disagree on many topics, and those disagreements sometimes turn physical, and opinions differ on what should be done about that, but I'm glad we live in a place where we can discuss these issues and share our thoughts on them. And sometimes, we can even be respectful and open-minded while we do that, which I deeply appreciate.

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