A.M.C.s, the wringing of hands, and the courage to seek first principles

“But: I’m dissatisfied with the wringing of hands. It’s not that I expect A.M.C.s to arrive just because one might wish. But I do want the courage to seek first principles, and not just the questions. There must be grounds for the positions we take, axioms to interrogate, ones that beg for an internal alignment among our ideas, our politics, our decisions. And, as a separate matter, I want to be unafraid to seek strategic, conciliatory identification of first principles that share some bedrock with those of others whose politics depart from mine.”

This is a thought provoking and great piece, I've been thinking about it since I read it.