Republican and I Share Views at Forum

Last night I participated in a friendly and stimulating discussion at the Lindsay Cultural Arts Forum. About 40 people attended the event titled "Where's the Party?" I presented on Democratic/liberal perspectives and issue positions. My COS History colleague Stephen Tootle then presented on Republican/conservative beliefs and issue positions. Afterward, we took questions from the floor, alternating with Stephen answering first on one question and I answering first on the next. Tom Elson, a COS adjunct Philosophy Professor and retired minister, did a terrific job as moderator. His engaging personality and sparkling wit made the event a lot of fun. We supported our basic philosophies and positions, but also found areas of common ground.



In my 20-minute talk I showed my PowerPoint titled "Democratic Ideals: Meeting Human Needs with Compassion and Practicality." I discussed the values that underlie Democratic thought, things like justice, community, security and the four freedoms. (Enunciated by Franklin Roosevelt, the Four Freedoms are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear.) Implicit in the last two freedoms is the role of a democracy in taking proactive steps to foster prosperity and security in society and for its members. That is the liberal perspective that animates Democratic thought. I also highlighted Democratic achievements in civil rights and the economy.  Stephen related the underlying conservative affinity for tradition, suspicion of government action and desire to encourage individual responsibility that are important to Republican thinking.

There were some interesting questions form the audience. Most people at the forum were repelled by the success of Donald Trump in the Republican nomination contest. When I was asked for an idea  for reducing polarization, I mentioned the need to get the big private money out of the campaign process. Stephen told of his experience that in local government problem-solving, partisanship rarely seems to matter. 

We found common ground. One such matter was gun control, where he granted that if Republicans could trust that liberals were not intent on confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens they could go along with background checks and limitations on gun types. He remained skeptical on human-caused climate change, but said he shared the goal of making the air cleaner. He proposed that we could make incremental change on issues like medical care, where Republicans might favor programs for the truly needy. Our discussion was a good model of civil discourse in these highly polarized times.