If you are like me, the endless diatribes and battles we’ve watched go on with healthcare the last year has left you exhausted.

Are you tired of hearing how making any changes to the health care industry is going to ruin, bankrupt or lead this country to a new era of totalitarian fascism?

Me too. I’ve lost respect even for those Republicans I did, at one time respect. Not one of them has escaped using cheap, emotional fear tactics as a method to combat healthcare reform.

Few, if any, have offered anything in the way of legitimate debate or original, useful ideas for how to do it differently. This is, in spite of being asked, publicly, by our President, on multiple occasions to join the debate in a constructive way.

Because, in spite of disagreeing fundamentally with the policy stands most conservatives have, I believe they deserve to be heard. They should be heard. But I wanted to hear what they thought should be done, not the emotional grandstanding, button pushing and fear mongering we’ve had to endure for over a year now.

I guarantee there are more than a few folks in Washington who would privately admit the tactics they used to fight against healthcare reform were because they had no better option, no superior solution to the challenges we face. If they did, how sad we could not know what they were because we were too busy being terrified by the prospect of totalitarianism and death panels. They knew if Democrats succeeded, they would have problems keeping their jobs in November. And so they stopped really arguing, really participating in true discourse.

This is very common really. It happens daily in many situations where two or more people come together to discuss ideas on which they do not agree.

We all have a right to put forth our ideas on what the best policies, best practices or best solutions should be. And we should do so earnestly and with good faith.

And those who oppose us should listen with open minds and open hearts and consider our arguments on their merits. Labeling a particular idea or point of view as radically liberal, too conservative, or anything else is not listening at all. It’s using labels as a tactic to shut down true discourse and honest collaboration. It turns any debate into a pointless squabble where no real understanding of your opponents point of view will be achieved.

You may think there is no value at all in even listening to what your opponent has to say. They do not agree with you and therefore must be wrong. The truth is, nothing is ever that simple.

Nothing.

The world is not black and white. As much as we would like it to be, as much as having it so would make our lives easier to understand and make us more comfortable, it’s just …not.

And so, we should listen to all sides, consider all options at face value before filtering them through our own personal value system and deciding, in good faith, if a particular point of view has value. You
might find that an idea you figured you would disagree with is in fact, and idea you disagree with. But now, you’ve carefully considered this idea, asked yourself if it has value and you can be very clear with yourself and anybody else, why you find it has no value.

Your own argument becomes better, more strong, more valid when you
listen to the arguments in opposition and can effectively determine
why your argument is the superior one.

Or, maybe you will find that you not as right on a particular issue as you thought you were, that you didn’t have the best argument or all  the facts on your side and you can reconsider your position.

We should never be afraid of what those who disagree with us have to say. We should be encouraging them to speak and hoping they will allow us the same courtesy. If our own arguments do not stand up to the debate, they should be reconsidered, made stronger or abandoned in favor of arguments with more value.

This… is the fundamental building block of our society and it’s ideals. It is how we shape our lives, our future and how true change comes about when, in the face of all arguments against it, it becomes obvious that a change is needed. Then it happens.

So next time someone comes to you with a position that you are prepared to dismiss out of hand simply because it’s contrary to your own, stop, really think about it. Don’t label and dismiss it.

Be better than that.