But when somebody proposes a better solution to an argument, or at least one that you can't refute - isn't the greater problem that people aren't willing to change their own views?
If you've gone to the trouble of forming beliefs rather than just assuming the common ground, you've got brains enough to defend those views. Making fun of somebody because of their opinions is just rude, and there needs to be a degree of civility in most arguments - but I don't get this idea of having to respect everybody's views as valid if they can't back them up. There's a middle ground between beliefs like 'most of us are good people' and 'fly planes into major economic/symbolist structures and kill thousands FOR GREAT JUSTICE' - and if we don't start questioning and debating views on this level then the crazy stuff becomes more prevalent.
We had a debate earlier this year about Australia's asylum seeker policy, during which some people here openly supported a complete distrust of certain people based on their nationality.
Justify that. If you just sit back and say 'well I'm entitled to my own beliefs' then it's fine if the consequences are nonexistent. But we actually don't live in a vacuum, so maybe questioning such beliefs more frequently might actually have a beneficial effect.
|