There was an ok movie in the late 80s starring Gerard Depardieu and Andy McDowell called 'Greencard'. It had a quote I have carried with me, far longer than the rest of the movie deserved. McDowell plays a stereotypical upper-middle class liberal New Yorker and Depardieu the American idea of a stereotypical Frenchman. At one point, she is outraged by something he says, and says "ugh, you're so right wing!"

He replies "Wing? You're the one with the wing. All your ideas come from the one place."

That really hit me - "All your ideas come from the one place".

That made me open my eyes to a hellalot of my assumptions about people and shared beliefs. I came to realise that grass-roots trade unionists and Labor voters sadly too often harbour some of the most racist and homophobic views. Well-off middle class Liberal voters produce some of the most passionate environmentalists and animal rights activists. Gay people can be bigots. Not all Aboriginal people support land rights, and some actively distance themselves from traditional culture. Feminists can be chauvinists. Thieves can have a sense of honour and duty and those who dedicate their lives to God can prey on the most vulnerable in their flock.

I adapt the original quote these days to "people's ideals rarely all come from the one place. When they do, it's fairly safe to say they've never really challenged their own assumptions."

It was a good lesson to learn.