Suppose you’re a die-hard Democrat. What do you do about such issues as:

Transgenderism in women’s sports. Do you side with persons having male chromosomes but identify as women when they want to compete in sports against women, simply because such persons are overwhelmingly Democrats? Or do you side with genetic women – who are also predominately Democrats – who are concerned that subjecting genetic women to competition from persons who’ve spent most of their lives developing height, girth and muscle mass as a man with male chromosomes and testosterone levels will destroy women’s sports?

Environmentalism and immigration versus unions. Do you side with trade unions – which are overwhelmingly Democrats – who understandably want good jobs for workers? Or do you side with environmentalists – who are also overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to eliminate the oil and gas industry and the millions of jobs that accompany it, and illegal immigration advocates – who are overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to flood America with low-paid immigrants that may eventually vote Democrat but will drive down America’s worker wages even further?

Schools for minorities. Do you side with Chicago public school teachers – overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to continue receiving their salary while schools are closed indefinitely on the pretense of COVID fears? Or do you side with black parents – overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to see their kids back in school and point to safe school re-openings across the country?

There’s the same issue on school choice. Do you side with teachers and their unions – overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to restrict school choice by black parents? Or do you side with those black parents – overwhelmingly Democrats – who want to send their kids to the best schools available?

Urban violence versus urban order. Do you side with radical groups like Antifa and the more extreme elements of Black Lives Matter – overwhelmingly Democrats – who candidly espouse attention-seeking violence for their causes? Or do you side with the urban residents and businesses – also overwhelmingly Democrat – who suffer the results of that violence?

The same issue presents with regard to urban vagrancy, er, homelessness, er, persons experiencing homelessness. Do you side with feral humans who seek attention by camping on the downtown sidewalks and pooping in the gutters and their enabling advocates who are overwhelmingly Democrats? Or do you side with the urban residents and businesses – overwhelmingly Democrats – who are trying to live and work a few feet away from those make-shift toilets?

Democrats who’ve read this far are entitled to a little “whataboutism.”  What about Republicans, they ask. Fair enough.

If you’re a die-hard Republican, what do you do about, say, abortion? Are you a spiritual or moralistic Republican who says that says life is sacred? Or are you more of a libertarian Republican who says the government should not decide such things?

Speaking of Republicans and life and death, what about the death penalty? Are you a Republican who says the government lacks the moral authority to take a life because that’s a question for God alone, or are you a Republican who says God has already decreed, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”?

What about capitalism for Republicans? Do you side with natural monopolies like Google, Facebook and Amazon that result from amazing but disruptive technological revolution in a capitalism economy, and the power inherent in such monopolies? Or do you side with consumers who feel their privacy is invaded and their thoughts are controlled by such monopolistic powers?

In politics, these are called “wedge issues.” They tend to drive a wedge between individuals who otherwise agree with one another. Democrats are especially vulnerable to wedge issues because they tend to stand not for principles but for opposition to Republicans.

Democrats are so vulnerable to wedge issues that they’ve adopted a strategy to limit their effect. They call their strategy “intersectionality.” It’s a vague term that means, “Each Democrat may have a different focus, but we agree on everything.”

Intersectionality doesn’t work, of course, because just saying “we agree on everything” doesn’t actually produce agreement. But it’s a way of deflecting the discussion to the one thing they do always agree on: That they hate Republicans.

Here’s my point. Don’t let your tribe do your thinking for you. Think for yourself. You and your country will be better off.

Otherwise, you’ll be confronted with issues like these where you don’t know what to think because your tribe is divided on the subject. Like sheep without a shepherd, you’ll be lost. In fact, you already are. You just don’t know it yet.