Austin Bay has a perceptive, even profound comment about American foreign policy (and its critics) that (alas, less incisively) I have been attempting to apply here to our domestic racial politics (HatTip to InstaPundit):
All but the most recalcitrant, calcified and now laughable naysayers in the West suddenly recognize the pragmatism of American idealism.
The principle that people should be treated without regard to their race, creed, or color is in fact very practical. It prevents religious, racial, and ethnic conflict over spoils and favoritism and promotes domestic tranquility and national unity. It reinforces another important American principle, that rights inhere in individuals, not groups. It minimizes the salience or race. It is based on, and hence reinforces, a widely shared sense of what is fair. I could go on. (O.K. You’re right. I have been going on about this for some time.)
That’s the thing about principles: the best case for them is often instrumental, and it is usually highly impractical to abandon them.
To liberals, principles are “oversimplification”. They lack the nuance required to adopt to the latest cultural meme. Therefore, they have none. Too limiting, don’t you know. That is why they think Bush is a chimp and they deride him. actus knows.