How can we be wrong?; A Bias-cycling Argument

I've just returned from an evening of biking and discussion. The event was the first Master Plan Ride, led by the commissioner of biking for the Portland Department of Transportation. After riding around Southeast to evaluate the existing conditions of bike boulevards, lanes and other traffic controllers, we met at the Lucky Lab to discuss possible improvements. People were cordial and listened to one another. When disagreements arose, people handled them politely and acknowledged one another's point before stating their own opinion. There is something reassuring and hopeful about sitting in a room watching civil discourse take place. On my bike ride home, although I was tired from the 20 miles I had logged that day, I was driven by the empowering scene I had just witnessed. "How can we be wrong?" I thought to myself. By "we" I meant environmentally conscious, progressive, cooperative and liberally-minded people.

There are some debates which indeed have two sides. For example, I recently had argument over which was the better Indiana Jones movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade (Temple of Doom obviously not deserving consideration in this competetion). The issue of the Indiana Jones trilogy hierarchy allows for, I feel, more subjectivity than the red and blue schism that divides our nation. I just don't think I'll ever be convinced that protecting the environment and seeking methods of transportation beyond the automobile are inferior causes. Who are these people who think that we should fight to protect our oil interests in the Middle East and why are they controlling the world? Worse, why do so many people agree with them and why don't they know that WE are right? They probably like the Temple of Doom even.