Here is an article which might be helpful for all of us.

Close behind the news headlines lurk abstract puzzles. Freedom and democracy are offered up as justifications for war, yet they themselves are rarely explained or justified. People argue passionately about abortion, uncertain where law and morals meet or what anchors moral convictions. A judge in Dover, Pennsylvania, faced by Christian zealots claiming that evolution is "just a theory", asks experts to explain what makes theories scientific.

This is sort of the point I have been trying to make. The "why" of our beliefs. If we can acknowledge that it is not lack of intelligence that makes people think or believe differently then we lose our easy out. We are forced to assess why we think the way that we do and whether our opinion is based on fact, fiction, prejudice, or the lack of information.

Who wants to go through all of that trouble? Well I had some time on my hands so I did. I have been forced to recognize that my opinions are based on fact, fiction, and prejudice.

Fact: The things that I have learned from various news agencies and trusted political websites.

Fiction: Things which I do not believe completely but I secretly hope is true, and which help to color my perceptions.

Prejudice: These are my long held distrust of government, my memory of Watergate and the Republican roles in it, my frustration at the way that George Bush became president in the first place, and my dislike for war in general.

It is through this prism that I view information. Whether it be news shows, websites, posts on the comments section, or discussion with friend and family. I remember asking a Christian friend what would he do if an alien came here and said that they were our creators and that they had even written our Bible. He looked at me and asked why he should believe and alien instead of trusting his own faith. (Is it any wonder I never get invited to church?) There was no way he was leaving the safety of his beliefs.

Okay nowI know that there are those on the right who are thinking "I knew it!". Hold on guys.

It is also my observation that I am not alone in having these limitations in perception. I think that it is in all of us. Whether a" left wing tree hugger" or a "right wing warmonger" we all have our baggage. We can only get so far from our comfort zone before we start to feel adrift. We race back to those sources of information which support our point of view. How we get these points of view has more to do with our life experiences and the people whose opinions we respected. It is not intelligence! Or lack of!

Having said that I am still a liberal in many respects. I don't tolerate liars.

War should be the last resort and then fought against combatants and not against civilians.

The law is the law. You break it you get punished. (My daughter can tell you of the time I called the police on her and her brother after they broke into a car. She was five!)
We should be judged by our character and not by our religion, skin color, or sexual orientation.

The mentally ill should be helped not punished.

Being the strongest means you should be the most gentle. Carelessly hurting those around you because they cannot hurt you back is wrong. Whether you are a person or a country.

Before engaging in a decision which will impact millions of lives you have an obligation to entertain dissenting viewpoints before proceeding.

Bad people should be punished! But that does not mean that you have carte blanche to destroy entire communities to get at them!

Those are my values and I stand by them.