You have a point, Rob.

But the important thing to keep in mind is that in these issues there are differences of opinion. Honest and wise men look at the same facts and see different explanations. Maybe there is no truth, or if there is, we don't really understand economics and history well enough to recognize it when we see it. Maybe the problem is just so complex that no single situation or set of rules can be used as a guide to deal with all possible situations.

Running a society and an economy is probably a lot more complex than living a life, or raising a child, and people can't even agree on the right way to do that. People even do all the right things and still screw up, and vice versa. That alone should make us suspicious of those who insist they have all the answers.

Maybe both sides can meet halfway, or perhaps there is a third (or even many) "sides" we haven't heard from yet. But until we can understand that there are some things that we simply do not agree on, and learn to live with that, there will be conflict.

And nothing creates conflict faster than accusing your opponent of being too stupid or too evil to see the obvious truth that you (of course) can plainly see.