Israel's negative campaign against Palestinians is on the backburner, for now

[shira]

17. LB, I think we can both come to agree about this article...

Are You Left-Wing or Right-Wing? Hopefully, I’m Honest-and-Accurate Wing
http://pjmedia.com/barryrubin/2012/01/20/are-you-left-wing-or-right-wing-hopefully-i’m-honest-and-accurate-wing/

So in conclusion let me lay down some proposed rules:

1. Forget about your political view or the view of the writer/speaker. Is their description of reality accurate? Does it take the facts into account and provide evidence? Does it ignore or conceal evidence that undermines their thesis? Is the argument persuasive? Does it successfully answer criticisms of the claims being made? If so then that person is right. You may then proceed to draw some conclusion about the proper response.

2. Is the policy response proposed merely a knee-jerk one based on a preexisting ideology or does it make sense? Is it creative? Does it deal with the nuances of the problem? What aspects of the problem wouldn’t it solve? Would it make things worse in some ways, including unintended consequences?

In other words, don’t ignore reality because you don’t like others’ proposed solutions. Even worse, don’t ignore reality because it conflicts with your preexisting ideological assumptions. If necessary, change your assumptions.

I think that's an excellent article that sums it up perfectly. I can't imagine you disagreeing with it, even if it is written by Barry Rubin.



It's an appeal to honesty, accuracy, and rationality. IMHO, only propagandists could possibly have a problem with this article.