Reply #32: I agree completely

[HughMoran]

I was excoriated for posting a thread with the title "Pragmatic means practical". Seemed like an obvious statement to make, but it really got under the skin of a lot of people.

In the weeks that followed, I read numerous posts where people who had roundly criticized me suddenly were espousing the virtues of 'pragmatism' on the left. It was enough to make my head spin. It really comes down to who's ox is being gored and not much else. All the talk of principal is just another method of saying "my guy's better than yours - nah nah nah nah nah!" When I step back and realize that highly intelligent adults are behind this behavior, I start to get that sick feeling in my stomach - similar to that feeling you get when you find out a good friend was backstabbing you.

We need to get beyond this.