One blends imperceptibly into the other, with a great overlap in between and lunatic extremes at either end. And there is no reason why a Conservative in one issue cannot be Liberal in another, such as tax policy, government regulation, national defense, social and cultural issues, monetary policy, and so on. Most of the time they have nothing to do with one another, these distinctions merely serve as enlistment tools for bigots.

We all have our partisan positions and convictions, I certainly do, and we all see ourselves as moderates with others more extreme the further they lie to the left or right of us. But there are no two tribes destined to fight disputes, one evil, one good.

The belief there is such a thing is Ideology, the scourge of the twentieth century. It is what has killed more people and cost more misery in our Age of Ideology. I know I have bored all of you to tears with this harangue before, but it is important to me, and the key to understanding everything I think and say. I loathe this idea that there are "two sides", and we have to pick and choose, and only one is valid, while the other is an obscenity. And I despise those who believe it. It is the source of all ignorance and fear, hate and greed; and it disguises itself in a mantle of self-serving self-righteousness and indigant virtue that is destroying my country and threatening the world itself.