The Dialectical Foundation

No human statement is complete by itself.
A statement may be a single sentence. A well-written paragraph makes a single statement. Often a long speech can be seen as making one statement, just as can an entire book. Not even in the Bible is any one statement complete by itself. It is only a "portion of God's word," and thus incomplete--which means:
There is always more to be said.

As in, say, the rest of that Bible. Nonetheless we need to remember that since no human statement is complete in itself, there is always something else to be said, something else that needs to be heard, read, learned, sought out, and considered.
We are now into the second century since the death of Abraham Lincoln, but even with the innumerable books written on his life, his administration, and his character, more continues to be said that helps to fill out the picture: witness the tremendous popularity, just two or three years ago, of LINCOLN'S VIRTUES.

It is always possible that you/I/we could be wrong.
Since there is always more to be said because no human statement is complete by itself, then it is always possible that we just might be wrong. None of us, Lincoln included, is infallible. Often we are unaware that we are wrong. We are convinced that we are right, only to learn later that we were wrong. Those who are convinced they are never wrong are the ones to be most mistrusted.

Because of the three principles above, we should always be considerate of others. We could be wrong, so we do well to listen to others: a family member, experts in the field, a person who holds opposing views. We just might learn that they are right and we are wrong. We might see that we are right, as far as we go, but other viewpoints may shed light of different facets of the issue, facets we were unaware of, and, who knows, theirs might be a brighter light.

So be at least a little bit slow in attacking the view of anyone else. Be considerate. Be considerate of them, and reconsider your own position. I believe it was Emerson who said something like, "Everyone knows something that we are ignorant of." Let’s learn from each other.

There is a lot to consider. A whole lot.