The Ropewalk

The Drummond Diaries - 9/23/72: Liberal vs Conservative - If one's opinion reflects that of a conservative, we call him a conservative; if that of a liberal, we call him a liberal. But notice the effect: thinking in terms of binomial, linear, and opposing ideas is in effect admitting an inability to understand one's position in its entirety. Issues and attitudes are never so monochrome; they are tangled by the long, spiral web of personal and societal history. But when one's thinking is simplified the issue is made "clear." We don't notice that it is also denigrated and defeated before it is ever comes into focus. Thusly does each side fulfill the expectations of the other while remaining oblivious to the underlying reasons.