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What are we arguing over? For every "hot button" issue, there are typically two points of view - pro and con. If we can think past the idea that some big line separates us from those with whom we disagree.Let's draw that line a little differently and see what happens.
Abortion - the debate is not over its legality - it will be kept legal. The issue is over what type of sex education for children in public schools and whether contraceptives should be made available to high schoolers on campus. We could focus on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies so prevalent in young women.
Capital punishment - the debate is not over whether to execute - execution laws will be kept on the books. The issue is how much we should fund public attorneys and what discretion appellate courts have in overturning death sentences, especially for ineffective counsel. I don't want anyone put to death and I think we all can agree everyone deserves a fair trial.
Illegal immigration - the debate is not over whether to deport - we will certainly not be sending approximately 15 million illegal immigrants back to their respective home nations. The issue is whether we will punish businesses who hire illegal immigrants and those who give them benefits from taxpayer money. We stand a chance stopping the magnet (work) which attracts so many to come here.
Taxes - the debate is not over cutting or raising taxes. The issue is what group of people would use a tax cut the most effectively to assist the economy. If we want something, we should be prepared to help what ails us the most now, the economy.
Iraq and Afghanistan wars - the debate is not over winning these wars - we never will because we did not enter these wars to win in the traditional sense. The issue is when another war or conflict will force us to bring some of the troops home. Politicians don't want to appear to be disloyal to the "cause" of fighting terrorism. They would have to admit the truth about the next topic.
9/11 - the debate is not over what happened - evidence points overwhelmingly to government involvement. Sadly, it may not be about investigations and convictions, either. The issue is whether the truth of 9/11 and similar tragedies will be written correctly for future generations. When critical thinking becomes prevalent, we may have a chance to figure this one out.
We may not get what we want from public policy but we sure can do better than to have the same arguments over and over.
