Five Questions to Civilly Pose to Your Liberal Friends

If I were being totally honest, I would say that it has not been my experience that very many left-leaning folks in this country want to have an honest dialogue on the key issues that separate left from right. This is particularly true amongst the academically credentialed leftists I have encountered who presumably know they have nothing to gain by exposing their worldview or ability to defend it. However, the vast majority of us know some in our rolodex of friends and co-workers who are naturally inclined towards a more left-wing, pro-Democratic party stance/platform, and yet are willing to engage and discuss the various issues that separate us. This article is intended for your discussions with THESE people, for whom I believe these questions may be useful in their attempts to think through their political worldview, or your attempts to engage them in such. This article is NOT intended as a device to make an argument in and of itself - these are real QUESTIONS - not answers. Hopefully, they are thought-provoking as I intended them. I could have used twenty questions but I kept it simple with five. I would not bother with that crowd of closed-minded smugsters who don't warrant your time; but maybe just one person may challenge their own understanding of the real socio-political and socio-economic environment we find ourselves in today.(1) Do you believe public employee unions have been a constructive force in American society or a destructive one? If the latter, do you acknowledge the relationship between public employee unions and the Democratic party/agenda, and how do you feel about that? If you believe they've been a constructive force in American society, could you elaborate?(2) Are you for MORE government in American lives, or LESS government? The confusion lies in the left's pretty consistent opposition to things like school choice and health care freedom, but pretty consistent support for things like abortion rights and gay marriage. Should we want more government for some things and less for others, and if so, how do you draw those lines?(3) Would you consider the "war on poverty" of the last fifty years to have been a success? If so, by what basis do you see it as such? If not, what do you think was done wrongly and by what basis do you think even greater federal government intervention would succeed in defeating poverty?(4) Do you like big money in politics or dislike it? If you dislike it, do you believe it should be demonized when the last name is Soros and Steyer or only Koch? At what economic point does one lose their right to participate in elections and regardless of what that point is do you believe it applies to both parties or just one?(5) Does the economy function better with greater regulation or less regulation? If the former, can you think of an industry or company or product or innovation that has thrived with more regulation? If the latter, do you believe the current Democratic party is committed to freer markets or more restrictive markets? Which one is better for middle class people?