Wordbender

 Dear Minerva, You might not remember me, but you and I got into a bit of a tussle a week or so ago, a few days after the 2020 presidential election, on Facebook. We were talking on a thread posted by a guy named Erik, with whom I have the loose connection of having graduated many years ago from the same private, religious high school, a year later than he. Erik is part of a group called Common Ground Committee . His objective is to bring non-like-minded people together to search for things they agree on. But that day, people weren’t having it—especially you. Understandably, among the libertarians and Trump supporters, tempers were running high. And then you said this: A few people tried to point out that places like Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, etc. aren’t exactly totalitarian hellholes, and also that you were making absolute claims. I tried to argue that saving the planet is not an extremist position, nor is making sure everyone has health care, but you weren’t having it. The...