Mark Hedges wrote about our reps in government:

They're really well educated people, for the most part --- somewhere along the line they must have gotten that stuff about "considering that you are incorrect" and the rest. ....................................................

Most Senators & Representatives have been educated to know the answers to questions like: 5. How many branches of the federal government are there? 6. How many senators are there in the U.S. Congress? 7. How many years are there in a Senate term? rather than the answers to questions like: 3. What are the reasons for each of rights enumerated by the Bill of Rights? 4. What are the rights of the government? Does it have any? 5. What is the difference between rights and powers? So part of the problem is that conversations don't necessarly proceed along the same lines; that is, towards achieving the same end. A philosopher I read stated that the difference in certain controversies is that the parties are not aligned towards the same goals because they do not hold the same *values* (even before getting into a consideration of the means used to support those values). But I have noted that it is much easier to discuss anything with anyone who, regardless of their political or philosophical inclinations or past education, has an open, rational state of mind; i.e., someone who *thinks* about things, who is fearless about introducing facts into their mental content and will not back away from seeing the whole picture. Otherwise they will be moved to make decisions based on convenience, rather than on a wide perspective of what it will do to one's way of life in the future. Harried Congressmen who have too many decisions to make and inadequate background preparation and too little time to make those decisions, are not going to be as eager to reason on the meanings and significance and consequences of many of the bills and requests for government action which they receive, even if they *are* bright and educated. If I was in their position, I would think it would be imperative to know very quickly what to eliminate from serious consideration, even more than of calculating what sort of governing action to take. But they are elected to govern, and by jove, that is what they set themselves to do, regardless. Try to convince them that we don't need them all that much. <g> .. Blanc