Short Assignment #2

The idea of choosing between extremes in modern discussion is looked at closely in Kathleen Parker’s “Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World”. The author dictates to the reader the growing dominance of either-or debates in today’s society and the people called moderates who are stuck in the middle. Abortion is used as a primary example of the hot and cold style of solving problems. The author herself claims to be on the fence concerning many matters, believing she can see both sides to situations and points out that she is not alone. Parker identifies John P. Avlon as an advocate for centrism which he suggests is strict to American values and embraces as reason.
Parker makes a legitimate assessment of the battle of the extremes and living as a person in the middle. Using abortion to show two sides was a significant example considering its history as a controversial topic. However, for a reader that is either liberal or conservative, the author was not overly convincing on the subject of being moderate. She could have focused more clearly on the different sides of another example. A controversial topic the author could have used to exemplify the two sidedness of the world is capital punishment. Specifically showing the viewpoints of both sides and then discussing the perspective of someone caught in the middle would have more accurately portrayed the point.
Coming from a conservative background I was brought up in an educational environment that was particularly one sided. As someone who does not enjoy being directly told what to believe, I strayed from the Catholic ideas being forced upon me. Had I been sent to public school I may have chose one side over the other and stuck with my decision. As a reader, it was simple for me, as a moderate, to understand the author’s position and views on centrism and flexibility in the either-or world. The suggestion of independents becoming a more powerful part of society is an accurate and influential proposal.