Issues or Values?

A comment logged to my blog the other day stated issues and values are different. Because that is so, says the commenter, values will elicit the strongest pushback rather than intellectual discussion. Issues are task orient, so goes the argument, thus we can discuss what works and what doesn’t. Values, however, are subjective and contain emotions. Deep emotions.

Objectivity surrounds issues and is thus discussable. Unless that is values enter the scene. Then the talk becomes emotionally charged. Fear or flight becomes the norm. Just like today’s politics.

I get the commenter’s viewpoint. She is correct. My problem is not so much my point of view, but that I don’t provide enough room for the values discussion to feel welcome.

Before getting to that step, however, I have to share this: values have been touted by every political sect and religion since the beginning of time. Values have been used to divide discussants most of the time. Family values? For some, there is no room for any model other than a man and woman getting married or having sex. Any other matchup is out of the question. It goes against the grain of current religious thought, mores, and cultures.

Only it doesn’t. Not anymore.

The year 2018, and soon to be 2019, is a time period of change and acceptance of change. Women can marry each other. Men can do the same. Babies are adopted by many of these couples, many of those babies being born out of wedlock and stigmatized. In my mind this is the only answer to abortion: adoption of the unwanted. If not that, then abortion should be broadly available. That should be the policy to address a serious issue that has life and death consequences. Those are the values I hold dear. If an action by one creates agony, death and suffering for another, then something needs to be done to lessen the original action.

On the other hand, unwanted pregnancies can and ought to be countered with adoption by willing couples who otherwise cannot have their own offspring. Gay couples and aging couples are great examples. Here we witness a merging of cultures, values and issues.

My point here is simple: issues affect us all in one way or another. They cause us to feel – sorrow, sadness, loss, unhappy, anger and many other types of negative feelings. That’s all the more reason to address the issue to turn those frowns and tears of anguish into smiles and tears of joy.

The commenter who offered her insight is a valued reader and friend. She has caused me to think  more about the divide between values and issues. I will contemplate long and hard on this and let you know what I come up with.

Meanwhile, thanks to all my readers, and commenters, too!

December 5, 2018