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I enjoyed @FraserNelson’s @Telegraph column today on the need for dissent over Covid. It’s worth a read for the poignant introduction alone. But there’s a problem with it: I’ve read it before. In fact, for every major event since I became politically... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/04/need-dissenting-voices-lockdown-debate-ever/
...aware, there has been a slew of comment pieces bemoaning the lack of ‘reasoned debate’ on the topic. Why? Because people pick their camps, and let battle commence. We don’t seek middle ground or consensus in this country; we try to bludgeon the other side into submission...
...and with each passing battle, the trenches are dug deeper. Discourse has coarsened, and positions have hardened. Where, exactly, do we see this trend stalling, let alone reversing? Politicians and journalists pander to it because it resonates with increasingly polarised...
...bases; it is not in their short term interest to address the slide. So what then, education? The state of that sector should shame any developed country, yet there are no real plans to address that, either. Perhaps I’m just being very cynical, but it may be time the British...
...just accepted, we are not a particularly open minded people: No, not just the people you disagree with, or the other class or region to which you don’t belong, but the lot of us.
And furthermore, we actually rather enjoy it. We have been taught to value sticking to our guns in the face of overwhelming odds. The bulldog spirit is seen as a noble trait. Add that to the way we reward ignorance, the potent combination makes this spiral of argument without...
...constrictive outcome appear predetermined. Our only hope, then, if we persevere with this cultural approach, is to hope the side that batters the other more viciously is also right every time. Like basing policy around cockfighting, which seems strangely fitting.
Constructive*
