Fundamental: an un-rant

1. Abortion
2. Littering
3. Wearing a seatbelt

I take a bit of pride in my ability to consider somebody else's point of view. If I get cut off on the freeway, I consider that the other driver may have some sort of emergency, or maybe they are normally a very considerate driver and today has been "one of those days."

I think it's a shame when I discover that someone I care about has no tolerance for something I'm fond of, like seafood or cats or board games. But I can attribute this to a difference in tastes and leave it at that.

And various philosophical, ethical, and theological issues I'm willing to engage in discussion about and consider the complexities therein.

But some categories, like the three above, are stumbling blocks for me. I cannot see how a reasonable person would take any stance other than the one I take. But obviously not everyone agrees with me, either in theory or in practice (which are not so distant from each other). This baffles me. I really have no satisfactory explanation for it. And I've tried.

Voting and pornography also fall into this category, but they're about one notch lower in intensity than the consternation those first three bring me, as far as people differing from my viewpoint.

I'm sure that "sin" is a viable explanation, but I want something that goes a bit beyond that. Maybe that's me embracing post-modernism, or some other idealogical vice of my generation. I think what I really want to know is how somebody on the other side of the line from me - on any of those topics - comes to that conclusion. Or does it baffle them, too?