What side are you on? (And why?)

"Pit Bulls are a dangerous breed and should be banned."

"Pipelines create valuable jobs and are necessary for our economy."

"Eating meat is wrong under any circumstances."

"We must protect freedom of speech and expression in universities at all costs."

The sentences above are polarizing. Certainly, it's not difficult to find people who can passionately argue their position either for or against any of them.

Each of the sentences are particularly problematic because they each combine two thoughts into a single, unified stance. The pipelines might be necessary to the economy for a reason other than the valuable jobs they create, for instance, or they might create valuable jobs but not be necessary to the economy in light of other options available. Protecting freedom of speech may be very important to you, but perhaps not "at all costs".

It's easy to simply dismiss a point of view simply because you initially disagree with it.

But it's certainly more valuable to fully understand (and consider) the experiences, belief-systems, and cultural influences that may inform their perspectives before doing so.

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