[Vision2020] The Benefits of Polarization
Doug Jones
credenda@moscow.com
Wed, 5 Feb 2003 09:58:04 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_001D_01C2CCFD.14737BA0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Visionaries,
=20
Melynda Huskey complained about Merkle=92s =93polarizing=94 language and
pleaded for constructive dialogue, and Sunil said =93what=92s the point? =
No
minds are going to be changed.=94
=20
But =93progressives=94 know well the importance of polarization. =
They=92re
experts at it. It=92s what you do in a democracy when people won=92t =
drop
their particular injustice. Polarization highlights an opponents=92
hypocrisy to a broader audience. Dialogue only works where people share
many assumptions and are willing to grow. Local progressives have shown
themselves to be the last group to understand real change; they are
locked in decades old categories.=20
=20
Local progressives and public school advocates find themselves defending
anti-pluralistic, dated, =93back of the bus=94 policies to fund their =
narrow
ideologies. Everyone knows minds can=92t change on this issue, just as
every knew that public busses would never allow blacks up front.
Polarization offers some hope to those outside of political power. Local
polarization will only increase until simple pluralism prevails.=20
=20
Doug Jones
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
=20
------=_NextPart_000_001D_01C2CCFD.14737BA0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" =
xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" =
xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document>
<meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10">
<meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10">
<link rel=3DFile-List href=3D"cid:filelist.xml@01C2CCFD.13349300">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:DoNotRelyOnCSS/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:SpellingState>Clean</w:SpellingState>
<w:GrammarState>Clean</w:GrammarState>
<w:DocumentKind>DocumentEmail</w:DocumentKind>
<w:EnvelopeVis/>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
panose-1:2 2 6 2 5 3 6 2 4 3;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:7 0 0 0 17 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-ansi-font-size:12.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
mso-ascii-font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
mso-hansi-font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
color:black;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none;
text-underline:none;
text-decoration:none;
text-line-through:none;}
span.SpellE
{mso-style-name:"";
mso-spl-e:yes;}
span.GramE
{mso-style-name:"";
mso-gram-e:yes;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */=20
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext=3D"edit" spidmax=3D"1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext=3D"edit">
<o:idmap v:ext=3D"edit" data=3D"1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body bgcolor=3Dwhite lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dblue =
style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'>
<div class=3DSection1>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Visionaries,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Melynda Huskey complained about =
Merkle’s “polarizing”
language and pleaded for constructive dialogue, and Sunil said =
“what’s
the point? No minds are going to be =
changed.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>But “progressives” know well the
importance of polarization. They’re experts at it. It’s what =
you do
in a democracy when people won’t drop their particular injustice.
Polarization highlights an opponents’ hypocrisy to a broader =
audience. <span
class=3DGramE>Dialogue only works where people share many assumptions =
and are</span>
willing to grow. Local progressives have shown themselves to be the last =
group
to understand real change; they are locked in decades old categories. =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Local progressives and public school =
advocates find <span
class=3DGramE>themselves</span> defending anti-pluralistic, dated, =
“back of
the bus” policies to fund their narrow ideologies. Everyone knows =
minds
can’t change on this issue, just as every knew that public busses =
would
never allow blacks up front. Polarization offers some hope to those =
outside of
political power. Local polarization will only increase until simple =
pluralism
prevails. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Doug Jones<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style=3D'margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div style=3D'border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in =
0in 4.0pt'>
<blockquote style=3D'border:none;border-left:solid black =
1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt;
margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'=
>
<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><span =
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>=A0</span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
------=_NextPart_000_001D_01C2CCFD.14737BA0--