Fundamentals:

A short addendum to "What is a moderate?"

I recently wrote "What is a moderate?" in an attempt to clarify how being a moderate does not mean being devoid of deeply held principles, but instead being willing to listen and discuss instead of engaging in knee-jerk reactions and dismissing anything and everything that does not fit in with the pre-conceived notions.

I am gratified that "What is a moderate?" generated some discussion on other weblogs, but unfortunately, many seemed to make no distinction between "moderate" and "centrist". I did not address this difference because I felt it was obvious; apparently this view is not shared.

A "moderate" is not a "centrist", although a centrist can be a moderate, just as a centrist can be an ideologue, although this species of political animal is vanishingly rare.

The fundamental point that needs to be made is this:

A moderate can be of any political stripe or agglomeration of beliefs. The defining characteristic of a moderate is a willingness to acknowledge that beliefs other than those held by the moderate cannot and should not be dismissed out of hand.

Additional discussion is needed on the distinction between centrist and moderate, and I hope to post more on this topic in the next day or so.