Alterform

Jim: "I think we should have nationalized healthcare, so that those who can’t afford it can still get access to it"
   
Bob: "Why should I care about those who can’t afford it?"
   
Jim: "Because you may one day be in a position where you need it and can’t afford it."
   
Bob: "Well, I can save up for my future expenses, so I won’t need it"
   
Jim: "Yeah, but not everyone has that opportunity"
   
Bob: "And again, why should I care about them?"
   
Jim: "Because it’s the moral thing to do"
   
Bob: "Moral for you perhaps, but why should I be subjugated under your morality?"
   
Jim: "Fine, it’s a pragmatic thing then. More sick people leads to more civil unrest and instability".
   
Bob: "And again, I’ll take care of myself. Why should I care about the rest of society?"
   
Jim: "Because if the people in society work together for each others good, we can accomplish much more"
   
Bob: "That’s fine, but why should I care? I don’t want to accomplish more, I want more for me"
   
Jim: "But if everyone thinks that way, there won’t be enough for everyone else"
   
Bob: "And I ask once again, who cares? With enough might, I can control everything."
   
Jim: "Then you’d be a dictator."
   
Bob: "And your problem with that is?"
   
Jim: "Dictators are not good for a society."
   
Bob: "Well, besides the pragmatic good that can come from a dictatorship, why should I care about what’s good for society?"
   
Jim: "Because that’s what civilized people do."
   
Bob: "Then call me uncivilized, but a name doesn’t matter, because in the end, I get what I want."
   
Jim: "Well, thankfully, not everyone thinks like you."
   
Bob: "And if they did, so what? You’re talking as if there is a certain way people SHOULD think. If all morality is equal, and there is no absolute standard about how to live, then what matters is not what people SHOULD do, but what people WILL do to get what they want for themselves, at any cost."

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Okay, I tried not making this a strawman argument, nor is it supposed to be some sort of rebuttal against nationalized healthcare.

What this is meant to convey is that political discussions almost always end with what someone SHOULD think or what someone SHOULD do.

There are a lot of shoulds out there, and it’s almost always from the same group of people who say we SHOULDN’T legislate morality. But the problem is, almost any time you have a "should", you’re implying some higher standard that other people must try and live up to.

Now the truth is, no one wants to take morality completely out of the political arena. They may say they do, but they only want to until some pet cause of theirs is at risk of being destroyed at the whim of the mob.

But, you cannot have it both ways. I suppose you could, but then you’re devolving into anarchy. And that’s fine if you’re an anarchist, but for the rest of the population with their brainstem still intact, that won’t do on a day to day basis.

Just a thought.