Paul Morris wrote @ Thursday, 14 August 2008 at 5:52 pm

Katie,
The discomfort you felt from not having a point of view was palpable. I hope you have worked through it or at least learned to live with it. Unlike another commenter, I don’t think you can use it to your advantage because I believe that a sense of identity is our deepest emotional anchor, more important than a sense of self-worth (though it’s nice to have both.)
I believe that this is why we are drawn to causes—it gives us instant identity and self-esteem—often without achievement or effort. Unfortunately, identification can make us quick to take umbrage and impervious to reason. Hence the peril of discussing “politics and religion”: To the person who is identified with his party, his faith, his team, etc., questioning those entities amounts to an attack on his very core.
This, I believe, is also the root cause of prejudice: We reinforce our identity and self-worth by mentally maneuvering to feel better than others (“Yes, I may have a slight drinking problem and be behind in child support payments—but my neighbor can’t even start his car…and have you seen his lawn!”)
So if the necessity of having a POV makes us susceptible to dysfunctional partisanship and prejudice, and not having one courts madness, what chance do we have of achieving a peaceful, rational world? Methinks, as long as we all come from the factory this way, I wouldn’t hold me breath.

Paul