I can hear it now. "What a stupid title for a post!" Maybe so. In all honesty, I am not sure how we can have more thoughtful political discussions on the Internet. I'm not convinced that most people even want to do so. Insulting those who hold political views different from ours seems to be preferred by most. We have real trouble stepping away from what strikes us as a high-stakes contest long enough to try to understand those who hold different views, and we certainly don't like the idea that understanding another's views might lead us to change our minds. After all, we are right about all the important things.

This post was inspired by the comments on a recent post about what liberal atheists think about conservative atheists. I am genuinely interested in improving my understanding of conservative atheists and what they believe. This is why I wrote that post. It quickly became clear from some of the comments (here and elsewhere) that trying to understand one another was not terribly appealing to everyone. This made me suspect that getting beyond the "liberal" and "conservative" labels and talking about specific issues might be more productive.

The problem, as I see it, is that our political tribalism seems to get in the way of almost any discussion we attempt to have. Immigration, gun policy, the environment, military spending, public education, healthcare, etc. There is no shortage of important issues we should be able to discuss in a thoughtful manner. Unfortunately, we have turned almost all of these issues into scenarios where "our side" is morally righteous while "their side" is pure evil. This sounds too much like how religious believers operate for me to feel comfortable with it.

Now that I've confessed that I am not at all sure how we can have more thoughtful political discussions online, I'll mention some ideas I have about what might help:

Try to discuss specific issues and consider the merits of various policies that might help to resolve them. Stop viewing these discussions as opportunities to "win" and view them instead as opportunities to learn. Those who want to be more effective in advocating for their own political views should realize that being able to accurately express the views held by those on the other side is essential. As soon as the name-calling begins (and it will quickly begin), ignore those who are doing it and focus one's attention on those who are being reasonable. Do not deprive yourself from hearing the good ideas those on the other side may have. Let go of the need to have the last word, and walk away if it becomes clear that the person you are talking with is unreasonable. Recognize that your tendency to demonize those who hold different political views is likely to be counterproductive to almost everything you say you value. Pause every so often and ask yourself whether you wish there were more discussions like the one you are having or fewer. Appreciate that politics is every bit as much (if not far more) about emotion and values as it is about facts. Adopt the principle of charity and assume the best from the other party.

Most of these are fairly obvious. They also seem to be rather uncommon. If we want to inject some more reason into our politics, maybe trying some of them will be helpful.