Quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
Abortion and gay rights, for two of the most divisive examples, do not share the dignity afforded abolition, civil rights, women's suffrage, etc. Those were quite noble causes. I don't think liberals can claim them as their own, but that is altogether a different argument.
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We view abolition and civil rights and women's suffrage as noble causes because liberals of past eras fought hard for them to be fully accepted by society. At the time they were considered subversive and likely damaging to society. That's not to say that every liberal pet cause would make society better. However, I think the liberal virtue of actually listening to and considering "fringe" causes is a positive one. When you shoot down an idea because it's divisive, you've done yourself a great disservice.
Growing older doesn't always mean growing wiser. Sometimes it means growing stubborn, curmudgeonly and narrow-minded.