I have a cat. I adore him. I love cats. I don’t have a dog, but I love dogs as well. I also like other pets – bunnies, mice, fish – and wild critters.

Creating a false dichotomy is silly, yet it seems to be what we do now, so you are either totally for or against something with no room for nuances, left-wing, or right-wing, and not expected to have any respect for the other position.

If you want to get smarter, reach out to those you disagree with, be willing to open your mind to their argument rather than seeking to ‘win’; real winning is gaining wisdom either by recognizing the error in your position or by sharpening your understanding of the validity of your position by giving fair weight to criticisms of it.