The Political Opponent
I published The Virtue of Civility in the Practice of Politics in 2012. On the basis of a philosophical analysis of civility in our culture, I predicted that incivility would increase. Sadly—very sadly—I was right.
In recent years, especially in the election/pandemic year of 2020, fewer and fewer Americans are willing or able to regard their political opponents as reasonable people. We read, watch, and listen to news sources that reinforce our beliefs. Opinion pollsters report that more and more people regard the other side not merely as wrong, but as evil. Increasingly people buy into what I called the “logic of intolerance” in 2012.
1. Truth is of infinite (at least, very great) importance.
2. We know the lies of the liars (our political enemies).
3. Therefore, we have a duty of intolerance.
Far from listening to the other side or learning from them, people who are trapped by the logic of intolerance want to silence or destroy or ostracize the enemy. It is easy for such people to think: the lies of the enemy are both evil and dangerous; we must never give an inch lest they implicate us in their horrible deeds.
Imagine a national convention of an abortion rights group. Suppose it was suggested that the organizers invite thoughtful anti-abortion people to attend and explain their views. Conversely, imagine a parallel convention of a right to life group and a proposal that pro-choice people be invited to participate. What would be the responses? Quite likely, the proposals would be shouted down. We already know what they think. We can’t possibly listen to the propaganda of patriarchal monsters who would steal a woman’s right to her own body. On the other side: We must never abandon the weakest and most helpless human beings.
In the abortion debate both sides claim to defend genuinely important values, personal autonomy and human life. They are defending Truth with a capital T. Unfortunately, contemporary political debate in the United States finds capital T Truth almost everywhere. And so we have a duty of intolerance. We can’t listen to those who disagree with us about the election of 2020, immigration policy, climate change (whether it is real or what to do about it), the coronavirus, and other matters.
I am NOT suggesting that such policy questions are unimportant. We need to recognize that some policy questions are more important than others, and we need to give special care to the most important ones. Nor am I saying that all views are equally likely to be true. We will not build civility through relativism.
Nevertheless, we need to listen to the other side. We need to learn from the other side. No matter how sure we are of our political positions, we should be able to endorse a different argument.
1. I am not omniscient, and my political opponent knows stuff I don’t know.
2. More complete knowledge of a political problem almost always leads to better decisions.
3. Therefore, my political opponent’s knowledge is a resource for better decision-making, and my political opponent is also a resource for better decisions.
4. Therefore, I should treat my opponent as a good thing, a gift to be treasured.
Someone could skeptically refer to recent events. Are we really to regard the rioters who stormed the capitol as valuable political opponents? Are we really to listen and learn from Mr. Trump’s supporters, who believe the 2020 election was stolen?
In response, I might ask: what will happen if we refuse to listen?
Members of the mob that broke into the capitol, stole property, threatened congresspeople, and injured and killed police officers January 6 should be prosecuted, and in due course they will be. But the rioters were only the tip of the iceberg of Trump voters, some 74 million of them. It’s safe to say that many of those millions believe Trump’s baseless claims of fraud. Can we simply ignore them? Should we let ourselves believe we already know why they supported Trump? What price might we pay if we do not listen?
In 2016 I quit the Republican party because it accepted Mr. Trump as its candidate. Obviously, then, I think there are times when persons need to take a stand against wrong decisions. But that does not mean giving into the logic of intolerance. Even in quitting the party, I continued to listen to its leaders, including Mr. Trump.
Dear fellow American, do not think of your political opponent as evil. Whether she is Democrat, Republican, or something else, think of her as an ally in our experiment in self-government.
