The purpose here is to encourage openmindedness in thought, discourse, and deed, based on the belief that society will be healthier if the citizenry makes choices and decisions by giving honest thoughtful consideration to all points of view.
You don't see much of that in current American culture. The people who are the most extreme, the viewpoints which show the greatest anger and opposition, are the most widely covered by the corporate media and embraced by the American people.
Political moderation is seen as weak, boring, noncommittal, undesirable. And heaven help anyone who is openminded enough to reconsider and change opinion; that person is regarded as an insincere "flip-flopper" by the narrow minded culture.
A good case in point is Ann Coulter. It doesn't hurt that she's beautiful and blonde, but she succeeds mainly by spewing hatred and venom, and by being extremely narrow minded. Perhaps some people view her narrowmindedness as strong, decisive, admirable.
In her view, all liberalism is bad, all the time. Islam should be abolished, as should liberalism, and all religions except the true one, which, it so happens, is her religion, Christianity.
No matter how devoted we all become to our political viewpoint and our religion, may we never become so horribly hate filled and narrow minded that we fail to acknowledge and grasp at least some scrap of benefit from differing opinions, which is what religion and politics are: opinions.
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