A very good post you made. I have a brother-in-law who is unconditionally liberal along with his wife. He is a genius IQ even smarter than me (lol). 1600 SAT. Perfect score. Harvard, the works. He is now in his 60's. He challenged me to an e-mail debate. The issue was my daughter who had been at home alone with a friend - about age 12 - and thought she heard someone creeping downstairs. She shouted down: "I have a gun!".
In the e-mail debate I pointed out to my genius BIL that my daughter took the natural path, force. He said guns were bad. She should have said: "I'm a child, don't hurt me."
I responded: What if the bad guy had come into the house to rape the 12 year old, my daughter? What good would your response have done?
He never replied.
So, in relation to your black/white post, now that I have set this poor guy up as pitifully mis-informed, I will relate another incident.
While dining with the entire family (which is like a battalion) we were sitting together and they challenged me on something and I probably didn't give them a good backhand, but, then, he said: you have to understand, nothing is what it seems, nothing is black and white like Bush thinks, this table, for instance, if you put it under a microscope is not nearly as smooth as it seems. It would appear to be full of pockmarks and ridges.
I looked at the table and I looked at him.
"So let me get this straight, if your family is threatened by a piece of S((T with a pearl handled revolver, you want to call time out and x-ray the weapon."
Answer: "We don't care what you say. We don't have to listen to you. We are not interested in what you have to say."
Sigh. You poor person. I have a Sister and Brother in Law who are not just social liberals, but believe in a lot of Black Helicopter stuff. The Triads and all that.
Fortunately, they keep it to themselves, so we are on good terms.
See...that is the difference. THEY are moral relativists, while you and I are closer to moral absolutionists. We DO believe there is good and evil, and the difference between the two is NOT where you live or what party you belong to.