credo--reasoned unreason

Start by knowing yourself. Try to understand what is important to you, and why.

Admit that you are not objective concerning your values, goals, and faith. Admit that you are a non-rational being who cares deeply about things that cannot be proved, since all values and all faiths are fundamentally non-rational. Accept that millions of people have other values, even ones that compete with your own.

What, then, is the point of rational discourse? Why bother speaking clearly and making careful distinctions?

Because:
a) most people share some of your values, sometimes more than you or they realize; if you can clarify this, you may be able to avoid needless conflict
b) those with common values may be willing to consider better ways of achieving common goals

I believe my values and goals are strong enough to be advanced and defended honestly, by careful use of facts and reason. I am not afraid to "admit" that I and other people with my values are fallible and ethically tainted. So is everyone else. The more we admit, the better. Let all minds be open for view; yours may be uglier than mine.