What Are We Fighting For?

Many years ago (oh! so many!) a conference I was attending faced a decision on a controversial issue. (So long ago I can't remember what issue, nor which side I was on.) The person who was pushing this particular issue was memorable, if only because he was so abrasive.  And, no, he was not me. But as his various attempts to get his motion(s) went down in flames, he became more and more desperate and, hence, pitiable. By the end, if he had not been so outraged and angry, he would have been in tears. He  pleaded with the delegates at the conference to give him some small token, however meaningless, so he could return to his supporters and comfort them with that vestige of victory.
Alas, he was denied even that.
Today our public discourse has been reduced to a similar level of seeking complete and utter dominance. Unlike my friends the Quakers, where decisions are based on seeking consensus and common ground, decisions today are focused on winning and losing. If you ain't fer us, you'se agin us.
In other words, power. Control. The other guy must submit, totally and even willingly. If not, that person must be forced into subservience and obeisance.
Yes,  there are important issues today and they need to be addressed openly and honestly. But too often today, the debaters in the public square descend to arguments that could be summed up on a bumpersticker. (And not a very nice one, at that!) This is not the sort of sincere dialog that one should expect, but children arguing on the playground. If you can't answer your opponent's argument, then cast slurs upon him or her (the more personal the better). Or try to out-shout your opponent. If all else fails, resort to violence.
It is possible to take opposing views seriously. And sometimes to recognize that a valid idea might come from someone you disagree with on everything else. Yes, admitting that you could be wrong on this or that does not make you a lesser person. In other words, we do not have to take complete, total, unquestionable control over everything.
That's God's job.