…the problem of the increased social hostility we are witnessing today is first a moral one, and only subsequently an intellectual problem. That is, if we are not to be self-satisfied, self-righteous partisans, unwilling to entertain the possibility of good in other parties, we must develop a certain kind of character. The avoidance of sectarianism is not first and foremost a matter of intellect. It is a question of character. When you see a thorough-going sectarian who always repeats the party-line, you likely are witnessing a coward (because it takes courage to face the back-fire of cognitive dissonance) who lacks integrity (because it takes truthfulness to acknowledge we may be wrong).
Lee Camp