Nuance, the enemy of common ground

One of the things I’ve learned in my role as a Moderator of the Friends of Abe server is how to address folks from different political perspectives.

We’re all on the right, but that could mean anything.  

Conservative?

Libertarian?

Former leftist?

In it for the fashion?

And what I’ve noticed is there’s no more powerful method for inflaming internal divisions than nuance.

If you think gay men who are politically ostracized don’t have strong opinions, I’ve got a Vermont vacation cabin to sell you.

As one of our most esteemed members likes to say, “there are no wallflowers here!”

But as men of character and thoughtfulness, we hash it out: compare facts, state views loudly, thoroughly, directly.

At the end we’re still all friendly – no hard feelings, and we’ve likely learned something in process.

Nuance is the opposite of that – it’s the idea that the facts are somehow mysterious or obscured, that true knowledge belongs to the few instead of the many, that an aggressive “well, ACKSHUALLY” centrism is what wins the day.

That’s not to say that depth isn’t important, or that issues can be less than clear cut.  It’s the imposition of nuance for its own sake that stifles debate and growth.

We seek to foster discussion, and that means passion, and people with the will to win.

It’s my hope that this will be a space free of nuance, but filled with barrel-chested opinions.

Welcome to the Friends of Abe Blog.