talking points that piss you off

[RI]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

Along with this:

1. Couching marriage in terms of rights
2. Almost anything with the words freedom or liberty in it
3. Saying the separation of church and state is absolute/misconstruing its meaning
Corollary: "Religious people are inherently ignorant/blind/stupid/irrational and shouldn't be in public conversation"
4. "Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol" [Not because it's wrong but because it's a really stupid argument]
5. Anything whatsoever that mentions states' rights
6. "The people have spoken" or anything similar that supposes popular support (especially for a party but not an issue) gives moral or even political legitimacy
7. "The American people are cutting back so government should too" [ugh]
8. Anything that talks about economics in non-quantitative absolutes
9. Anything calling politicians blanketly corrupt/stupid/evil/bad etc.
10. Anything calling government blanketly corrupt/stupid/evil/bad/etc.

There're plenty more I'm sure.

[RI]

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That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

It's not that it's factually inaccurate; it's just a very poor argument. In fact, to me, it's a perfectly good argument for banning alcohol.

[RI]

2. Almost anything with the words freedom or liberty in it

You are pissed off by freedom and liberty?

Not exactly. Mostly it's a couple of things: First, the way people use those words in political discussions as silver bullets that they think magically win conversations. Second, the way those concepts are commonly construed I believe is very limiting and disservicing. Third, the way people frequently believe that these things are always or nearly always good things or, even more so, that their maximization represents the highest echelon in the hierarchy of political ideals despite that aforementioned limited view of what these words mean, and most of all that this view should be universally accepted.

I believe that freedom, liberty, and choice are amoral constructs whose proliferation and even simple existence are not always desireable ends. I do not think that they are bad per se; I just think that our understanding and discourse about freedom assumes far too much and that a more nuanced view could benefit society.

[RI]

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That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

It's not that it's factually inaccurate; it's just a very poor argument. In fact, to me, it's a perfectly good argument for banning alcohol.

Because that was such a success.

Irrelevant.