Canadian Politics Today

It doesn’t mean someone doesn’t see your side of the argument if they disagree with it or think it’s stupid.

My post had two clauses which should have been taken together. Understanding both sides of an argument is a necessary but not sufficient criteria for a centrist. The other one is a willingness to seek consensus through compromise which is obviously not an option for people who think the other side is "stupid". Ideological purity may make extremists feel good about themselves but can never lead to effective governance of a society with a huge diversity of views. The most ideological purists can hope for is a few years of happiness where their ideology is imposed until their guys are booted out and all their changes are reversed by the opposite ideologues that replace them.