Liberals have difficulty understanding the Tea Party because they think it is a bunch of selfish racists. But I think the Tea Party is driven in large part by concerns about fairness.

People who devote their lives to studying something often come to believe that the object of their fascination is the key to understanding everything.

Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into teams … but thereby makes us go blind to objective reality.

Scandal is great entertainment because it allows people to feel contempt, a moral emotion that gives feelings of moral superiority while asking nothing in return. With contempt you don't need to right the wrong (as with anger) or flee the scene (as with fear or disgust). And the best of all, contempt is made to share. Stories about the moral failings of others are among the most common kinds of gossip, they are a stable of talk radio, and they offer a ready way for people to show that they share a common moral orientation.

Our moral sense really evolved to bind groups together into teams that can cooperate in order to compete with other teams.

The rider evolved to serve to the elephant.

Empathy is an antidote to righteousness, although it's very difficult to empathize across a moral divide