i like to think that people are reasonable, that given the choice between an ideological stance and a actual solution, the solution will win. However this belief is becoming something that is more difficult to tolerate by the day. People are so attached to their opinion that there is a lack of acknowledgment in  not only the validity in the opinion itself, but in the fact that they have reasons they are that way. I have no problem with extreme positions, in fact i often assume extreme positions for the sake of argument, but what i do have a problem with is the discounting of extreme (or more realistically moderate) opinions without regard to the truth of any of the claims behind the opinion. Just because it is not your opinion does not make it untrue, or illogical.
If you know me (or you could probably discern from reading the style of this blog if you do not), then you know that i am an argumentative person, I love to debate people. This is redeeming for on key reason. If someone cannot defend their position from attack or disbelief then they should not have that opinion. However this is a flaw in other regards, 1. people discount what i say for the sole reason that i am saying that for the sake of argument, regardless of if that is true or i actually believe what i say, and 2. because it means that i am conflicted in all of my internal viewpoints. I actually believe, care for/about, trust, know, or understand very little. In this regard i follow descartes philosophy (articulated on his first meditations of philosophy), that is really only one thing that i know for a fact, I EXIST. This is evident for the fact that if my mind did not exist in some way then i would be incapable of coming to his conclusion, i think therefore i am (conginitus ergo sum). This inner conflict which works wonders for debate, allows me to maintain moderate positions, and argue with people over the simplest of things, is the one defining characteristic i have that i pride myself on, yet is also is the one thing that prevents me from having sympathy, empathy, major emotions, or any other aspect that makes humanity different from the things it creates. My point however for this paragraph has yet to be made, being that individuals must see the validity of points behind if not the opinion itself, debate both formal and informal is probably the best thing for this, being forced to adopt a position at the flip of a coin and then argue persuasively for that side is something that many individuals in the news, in seats of power, around us, perhaps even us, could use.
This phenomenon of polarized individuals, is not a modern phenomenon, the only reason it is prevalent today is the availability of inside information on those individuals. It is due to human nature that we wish to know truth, and for many the avenue to accomplish this is to ignore objective truth and accept your opinions as facts. The need for a logical defense is something that every individual's beliefs are due, even including religion.
Now that my rant on stupidity on the individuals that think it intelligence is over, i am going to get something to eat