It wasn't my intention to be condescending. Are you saying that rationality always wins in humans over belief? I think I'm just making a statement about all of us as humans here and I'm possibly sometimes just as guilty.

You're saying you know why these arguments are being made, and furthermore that they're motivated by irrational beliefs.

It's a recurring theme. Whether we talk about global warming, science, evolution, woman's rights, racial relations, human rights. There are beliefs and beliefs almost by their nature are irrational. Try having a rational discussion with a religious Jewish person about why they can't turn the light on or off in their home on Sabbath. And that's an easy topic. Some arguments are made from a rational position but many are not. Some are from an emotional position. Some are based on beliefs that don't care about the rational argument. Now to be honest judging things by rational arguments is a belief on its own.

No, I get it. For whatever controversy, there's a "the" rational argument, you know what that one rational argument is, and all these dummies aren't interested in learning what that is. Kind of evangelical if you think about it.

So on what basis are emotion and rationality being separated here? Common sense?

I didn't say that. There is certainly not a single rational argument, there can be many going different ways. I also didn't call anyone a dummy. If someone's choice is not to present any arguments that can be evaluated by some means I just don't have a way of making progress. But I guess we are not bridging the gap here.

EDIT: and to answer your question emotion and rationality are separated by coming from different places in the brain. I can be mad, or upset, or happy, or in love, without any rational reason. There's not a love=mc^2 equation. But just because I'm mad doesn't mean that gravity doesn't exist. I don't know if this makes any sense but that's my best answer.

EDIT2: Or maybe you're asking how I can tell whether a given position originates from belief, emotion, or rationality? Well, I can't. I'm certainly willing to engage in the discussion and entertain the possibility that erecting trade barriers between the US and the rest of the world will improve in some way something for those people in the US who are feeling hurt by globalization. Convince me. So far what I heard is "we'll bring those jobs back" not followed by any specific actions or explaining how those jobs will come back.