Just recently I saw that there’s a new book out by Michael Walzer that attempts to define “liberal,” by saying, among other things, that liberals seek to be open-minded and tolerant, that they can live with uncertainty, are not inflexible, and that they abhor every kind of bigotry and cruelty. Liberals have a commitment to freedom for all and believe in mutual respect.

To be liberal on the Walzer model does not mean, as the old joke goes, being so open-minded that they won’t take their own side in an argument. But that they are committed to carrying on the conflict in a particular way. With dignity, restraint, and decorum. You know, manners. As in, “I’m sorry learned sir (or madam) but I must respectfully disagree, and here is the evidence to support my argument.” Who wouldn’t love to see that, again? Talk about wanting to return to “the good old days!” Wasn’t that part of it?

MAGA “standards” are such that disputing something one of them says is like bringing Google or factcheck.org to a food fight. Their tactics include, but are not limited to, lying, cheating, bullying, name-calling, heckling, and distracting with statements so outrageous, one is stunned. (Blood drinking pedophiles, anyone?) You can’t win fairly? Change the rules. Stack the deck. Anything goes because winning is the only thing that matters. In that atmosphere, liberals have limited choices: either learn how to fight dirty as much as it rankles, refuse to engage with liars and fools, or lose bigly. We live in a brave new world where lies told over and over again are accepted as the truth, but factual, verifiable evidence is denied.

As a writer,. I have no trouble disciplining myself to dig in and write. In fact, sometimes I lose track of time when I’m on a roll. I’ll often look at the clock and realize I haven’t left that seat for several hours. It’s always quiet out here in the country, unless the neighbors are target practice shooting or a cow has a complaint, but it’s especially quiet at night, so I do some of my best (I think, anyway) writing at night. Sometimes on into the night. But the job of re-writing and editing and re-writing again and correcting and tweaking are hard! Every time I go back over a chapter I’ve written, I can find something I want to make better. The pursuit of the flawless is a fool’s errand. I can always make it better. Or so I think.

If you write, what is your preferred method and time?