I managed to get myself embroiled in an argument w/ some right-wing idiots that

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25. If you're looking for a meeting of the minds

If you're looking to score political points and pwn the conservawhackos, there's probably a lot of good tactics, comebacks and zingers.

But if you're looking for a meeting of the minds, first and foremost, define your terms. You and your idiot friends are using the same language and the same words, but you probably don't mean the same thing when you use those words. That leads to a lot of confusion, and not much useful discussion happens. It can be as basic as "What do you mean when you say 'socialism'?" Is it using our pooled tax resources to spend on public works your idiot friends don't like? Because that's not really socialism. So it's important to know what you mean and what your idiot friends mean when you all use words.

One of the salutary effects of doing this is it sharpens up your own thinking on subjects. When you know what you think, you can express yourself better and more precisely and call out fuzzy-headed bullshit when it gets invoked.