The great debate: let's stop the name-calling and embrace a more thoughtful debate to moderate our political differences.

• Author: Hood, John
• Position: FREE + CLEAR - John William Pope Foundation - Interview

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Has it become impossible to engage in robust, respectful and productive debate about political issues?

Quite a few North Carolinians would say yes. Some believe politics has devolved into pointless name-calling. Others say the objective of political discourse--persuasion--is no longer achievable. They see most minds as already made up and most issues likely to be determined only by who shows up at the polls.

I agree that too many political debates today are coarse, unproductive and little more than preaching to the choir. But I don't accept that status quo is our only alternative. And I certainly don't accept the proposition that persuasion is impossible. In fact, while underlying values are often formed early in one's life and not easily altered, there is a good amount of social-science research suggesting that many people do indeed change their positions over time on particular issues in response to a combination of new information, new circumstances and the use of effective rhetorical techniques.

I'm currently working with other North Carolinians across the political spectrum on several projects to elevate the political debate. One program, the North Carolina Leadership Forum, has assembled nearly three dozen leaders to engage in constructive dialogue about how to help more residents earn enough to support their families. Another program, the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership, is retooling and expanding its decades-long effort to prepare candidates of all parties to run substantive, ethical campaigns.

A more informal project of mine is to encourage officials, activists, journalists and others who debate political issues to make better arguments for the positions they hold. Over the years, I've probably been as guilty of jumping to conclusions and constructing faulty arguments as anyone else. I plan to do better. If I succeed, perhaps my example will encourage others to up their game as well.

As part of this task, I've been keeping a list of common fallacies about public policy. Here are four big ones to ponder. The first is commonly advanced by liberals, the second by conservatives. The other two are propagated by both groups.

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