Monday, October 22, 2012

Debate: The bubble

I've had this conversation with my students a number of times, and felt ramifications of it over the weekend when a bunch of us were gabbing about various political and social issues with a collection of the usual tree-hugging suspects and one staunch conservative. Point number one, the world is not the way you think it is, filled with two kinds of people: 1) smart people and 2) people who disagree with your politics. Secondly, religion is important, even if you profess not to believe in one. As a matter of fact, for believers, it is by its very nature preemptive of all other concerns. The presumption is for God.

In other words, we are living in a real place called America, and just happen to have a tiny bubble called debate. And even in that bubble, there are a lot of Americans. This Gallup poll underlines that broader distinction.

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