Don't be a 100 percent-er: Column

This might sound naive, but it’s just nuanced.

If you don’t recognize the concept it could be because, these days, our political debates and policy discussions are largely devoid of anything that isn’t black-or-white.

Recent events have me thinking a lot about abortion and gun violence — and what the two have in common. Of course, it would be nice to live in a society where there were no abortions and no school shootings. Human life is precious, and it should be valued at any stage of development.

Just like it would be refreshing to live in a world where someone could be pro-choice and still allow oneself to be appalled by graphic undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood personnel cavalierly discussing the going rate for fetal body parts and graphically describing the procedure for removing them. And where that someone, once appalled, could decide that, yes, come to think of it, they could go along with legislation to stop government from funding Planned Parenthood, even though those efforts were bound to be thwarted by Democrats in Congress who accept campaign contributions from the organization. And yet have none of that change the fact that they’re still pro-choice.

That’s me. Pro-choice, yet appalled. In favor of defunding Planned Parenthood, but still pro-choice. Who says I can’t be all those things?

Likewise, with guns, it would be great to live in a world where someone could support the 2nd Amendment and cherish the right to bear arms on which the founders obviously put such a high premium given its placement in the Bill of Rights and still have their heart break every time there’s a school shooting and we learn the culprit had easy access to an arsenal. And where that someone, once heartbroken, can believe that the National Rifle Association and other groups opposed to restrictions on gun sales are running roughshod over Congress by doling out campaign contributions to Republicans. And yet have none of that change the fact that they still support the Second Amendment.

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That’s me. As the son of a retired cop who was on the job for 37 years, I grew up around guns. I’m not afraid of them. What worries me are the folks who love guns so much that they’ve lost perspective and abandoned common sense. I’d like to see legislation limiting the number of guns that could be owned by anyone other than licensed collectors. That might not be constitutional, but let’s force a court challenge and find out.

The absolutists and “100 percent’ers” are clueless. They want you with them all the way, all the time. No flinching. That’s a formula for losing influence, getting marginalized, and becoming irrelevant.

It’s time to take what we already know in our personal life and apply it to the public square: Life is about negotiating, compromising and finding balance.

Special interests lose battles now and then. Who cares? What matters is that the country comes out a winner.

Ruben Navarrette Jr., a columnist with the Daily Beast and the author of A Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano is a member of Paste BN's Board of Contributors.

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