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Originally Posted by Peregrino
Sigaba - I will ruminate on your post. You make reasoned arguments for a compromise approach. Unfortunately none of your points address the fact that gun control is as polarizing as abortion - for what I see as many of the same core value dichotomies. The arguments posted in the various threads defending a citizen's right to self-defense using the only effective "equalizers" - GUNS, are overwhelming in their condemnation of the left's "facts", their demonization of conservatives and inanimate objects, and their statist agenda. All of which is totally irrelevant in the current political climate. To illustrate, I'm including an opinion piece that lays out the agenda we're competing against. Welcome to 1858 - all over again.
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Although I've not specifically mentioned abortion, I have voiced my belief that America would benefit if participants in debates over polarizing issues took a step back from polarizing rhetoric. MOO, everyone is going to have a point beyond which they're going to say "no." To me, when it comes to polarizing issues, the key is to have discussions that, at best, will develop solutions that allow people to say "yes." Or, at worst, see participants walking away from the table temporarily saying to themselves, "
That conversation has given me a lot to think about...and those people across the table treated me with empathy. Some also treated me with dignity, and respect. They aren't nearly as bad as I previously thought."^
In a previous post that proved much more controversial than I intended
, I mentioned the role of imagination in dealing with issues that currently seem intractable, polarizing, and divisive. Here's an example of what I mean. There's a growing belief that participating in certain team sports plays a positive role in the development of self esteem among girls/young women. This heightened self esteem, some argue, can translate into girls/young women making better decisions when it comes to risky sexual behavior.*
Would it be possible to match those sensibilities to the present discussion by advocating youth centered team shooting leagues with a focus on "at risk" girls?** Would such leagues reorient the part of the discussion about guns into a discussion about women's health? Might the leagues themselves enable supporters of abortion to think about additional ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies? Might the young women who participate in these leagues come to understand that, what ever their political views, their economic circumstances, their cultural views, or their race/ethnicity, they had benefited personally from knowing how to use firearms? Might league events provide more opportunities for people of differing viewpoints/backgrounds to interact socially rather than to hammer away at each other politically?
Admittedly, such a proposal would likely generate controversy. The issues of liability and risk management alone might lead to complex litigation. Similarly, some will question the fairness of leagues geared towards a specific gender. Moreover, the proposal itself strikes at the heart of how American civilization acculturates women, if not also men.
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^ In regards to "empathy," I'm using the definition offered by the late Heinz Kohut.
Quote:
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...[E]mpathy: the resonance of the self in the self of others, of being understood, of somebody making the effort to understand you. . . .But empathy does not mean love or compassion. Empathy can be used decisively for hateful purpose. I figure out where your weak spots are so I can put the dagger in you.*
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Heinz Kohut interview with Charles B. Strozier, 29 January 1981, printed as "The Psychoanalyst and the Historian," in Heinz Kohut,
Self Psychology and the Humanities: Reflections on a New Psychoanalytic Approach, ed. Charles B. Strozier (New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1985), page 222.
* Dana C. Jack, "The Impact of Sports on Adolescent Development: The Importance of Title IX,"
Forum on Public Policy, 1:2 (winter 2005): 153-159; Kathleen E. Miller, et al, "Athletic Participation and Sexual Behavior in Adolescents: The Different Worlds of Boys and Girls,"
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 39:2 (June 1998): 108-123.
** I'm not talking merely about girls in the "inner city."