patrick.net

"In Gandhi’s teaching, no human should be regarded or treated as being an 'enemy', in the sense of someone you have a right to destroy, or to hate, or to regard as alien, from whom you cannot learn, for whom you can feel no understanding or concern.

"These are simply not appropriate attitudes toward another human being. No one should be regarded as being -- in his or her essence or permanently -- evil or as utterly antagonistic. No people should be seen as being evil persons, as if they were without good in them, a different, less human order of being, as if one could learn nothing from them or as if they were unchangeable, even if what there were doing in the moment was harmful and terrible, indeed evil and needed to be opposed. Thus the whole notion of enemy was both unneeded and dangerously misleading."

-- Daniel Ellsberg, from his memoir _Secrets_, relating his initial encounter with Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl, and her description of the Gandhi philosophy of non-violence.

This country was founded on resisting people like you, and we, the right will not give up.

Actually this country was founded as a Novus ordo seclorum, a place that rejected the old order of noble privilege, dynastic wealth, and inequality.

The Progressive Era of 100 years ago had the same conservative vs. liberal battles we see now.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=607

No, this war of ideologies, is not over. But you are not my enemy, nor am I yours.

I can learn from you and you can learn from me.

The liberals won the battles of 230 years ago, 150 years ago, 100 years ago, 50 years ago, and we'll win the current ones.

If we're still right.

I am reminded of the very great American, Senator Carl Schurz:

“My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”

stated in a speech in the Senate, February 29, 1872.

The fight between liberals and conservatives is, as you state, a long, rich one, one that the conservatives have been generally losing from the start. But stick to your guns, we need you to keep us honest and our arguments correct.