Starting a conversation or starting a fight

[Wiseacre]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

 

[pgm]

I want to talk. All the fights are boring.

 

[syrenn]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I guess you have never heard the rule:

Never discuss politics or religion at the dinner table.

 

[Wiseacre]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I guess you have never heard the rule:

Never discuss politics or religion at the dinner table.

Don't know how anybody can read some of the posts around here and keep their appetite.

 

[syrenn]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I guess you have never heard the rule:

Never discuss politics or religion at the dinner table.

Don't know how anybody can read some of the posts around here and keep their appetite.

Agreed. But this place is also not the dinner table.

 

[toxicmedia]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I'll crank it up a notch if I think my opponent is worthy. I won't ever start a fight...but if another poster is regurgitating Fox, MSNBC, Rush, or Bill Maher, without any original thought....I'll ignore them.

 

[Jackson]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I think you are right. It is probably hard not to have a political discussion without the sarcasm and cursing, but if we could keep to facts and be respectful, there would be so much less animosity and more worthy sharing. We can always agree to disagree.

I am a donor of sarcasm myself when I get ticked. I should work on that, lol.

 

[Avatar4321]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I think you are right. It is probably hard not to have a political discussion without the sarcasm and cursing, but if we could keep to facts and be respectful, there would be so much less animosity and more worthy sharing. We can always agree to disagree.

I am a donor of sarcasm myself when I get ticked. I should work on that, lol.

Problem is no one agrees on what the facts are. There are people who have very odd standards as to what are facts and how we determine they are facts and really wont even bother talking about how we can be on common ground.

As long as you dont want me, my family, or those i care about dead and aren't planning to overthrow our nations and the liberty we have guarenteed to us because of our Constitution, I'll talk to and work with anyone to accomplish common goals.

I am just amazed at how difficult it is to find common goals.

 

[bobcollum]

I don't argue much and if I do it wasn't my intent. I can also admit when I've been beaten in a discussion...more of that would reduce the arguments.

 

[Sherry]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

It depends on my mood. I appreciate engaging in some stimulating debate, and don't mind keeping it civilized. I rarely will throw out the first punch, but I never hesitate to swing back...I love me some snark.

 

[whitehall]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

"C c cant we all just get along"...Rodney King.

 

[The Gadfly]

Every day I see threads posted where somebody, mostly from the fringes of either side of the political spectrum, says something on TV or radio or posts something on a blog or website somewhere, and somebody here posts a thread that liberals did this or that, or conservatives believe this or that. As though everybody who generally has a point of view on either side of the political aisle should be lumped together with the wingnuts.

I suppose we have a number of ideologues on either side who cannot see any ideas but those espoused by their party leadership, but I suspect the real number might be less than most assume. Hope so anyway, but I think it's likely that many folks around here would rather engage in an exchange of thoughts about many things, not just politics, without getting into a pissing contest. Or then again, maybe not. Do you want to talk, or do you want to fight?

I think you are right. It is probably hard not to have a political discussion without the sarcasm and cursing, but if we could keep to facts and be respectful, there would be so much less animosity and more worthy sharing. We can always agree to disagree.

I am a donor of sarcasm myself when I get ticked. I should work on that, lol.

Problem is no one agrees on what the facts are. There are people who have very odd standards as to what are facts and how we determine they are facts and really wont even bother talking about how we can be on common ground.

As long as you dont want me, my family, or those i care about dead and aren't planning to overthrow our nations and the liberty we have guarenteed to us because of our Constitution, I'll talk to and work with anyone to accomplish common goals.

I am just amazed at how difficult it is to find common goals.

I'm not surprised at all.This board is a microcosm of this society as a whole, and that society has simply become increasingly polarized, culturally, socially, economically, and politically. There's little or nothing to be gained by exploring how we got to this point; what matters, is that everything is now perceived by both sides as essentially a zero-sum game. Once that happens, compromise (in any meaningful sense) becomes something neither side believes it can afford, without weakening its own position, and building up that of the opposition. The ideological divide gets wider, and deeper; meanwhile the economic, cultural and social divides have gotten wider and deeper as well, until each side sees the other not merely as opposition, but as its mortal enemy. This is a long way from what we have traditionally thought of as politics as usual. With both major parties now driven by their hard core ideological bases, and the other rifts in society growing, what we now have is war by non-violent means. There has been less and less common ground to be had, until now, there is virtually NONE. What is left, is competing interests that simply cannot be reconciled, and frankly there is little incentive for either side to even try; there is neither sufficient trust nor sufficient good will left to do so.

Honestly, there is really no point in even trying to decide who is to blame, as the condition is now self-perpetuating. What is left, is the question of whether it is possible for the resulting factions to even co-exist, in the long term. My best guess is that it is not, and that this state of affairs is likely to remain, until the country actually splits, along lines yet to be determined.That will probably happen within a generation, perhaps considerably sooner; there's really nothing on the horizon to mitigate against it.

 

[barry1960]

I think you are right. It is probably hard not to have a political discussion without the sarcasm and cursing, but if we could keep to facts and be respectful, there would be so much less animosity and more worthy sharing. We can always agree to disagree.

I am a donor of sarcasm myself when I get ticked. I should work on that, lol.

Problem is no one agrees on what the facts are. There are people who have very odd standards as to what are facts and how we determine they are facts and really wont even bother talking about how we can be on common ground.

As long as you dont want me, my family, or those i care about dead and aren't planning to overthrow our nations and the liberty we have guarenteed to us because of our Constitution, I'll talk to and work with anyone to accomplish common goals.

I am just amazed at how difficult it is to find common goals.

I'm not surprised at all.This board is a microcosm of this society as a whole, and that society has simply become increasingly polarized, culturally, socially, economically, and politically. There's little or nothing to be gained by exploring how we got to this point; what matters, is that everything is now perceived by both sides as essentially a zero-sum game. Once that happens, compromise (in any meaningful sense) becomes something neither side believes it can afford, without weakening its own position, and building up that of the opposition. The ideological divide gets wider, and deeper; meanwhile the economic, cultural and social divides have gotten wider and deeper as well, until each side sees the other not merely as opposition, but as its mortal enemy. This is a long way from what we have traditionally thought of as politics as usual. With both major parties now driven by their hard core ideological bases, and the other rifts in society growing, what we now have is war by non-violent means. There has been less and less common ground to be had, until now, there is virtually NONE. What is left, is competing interests that simply cannot be reconciled, and frankly there is little incentive for either side to even try; there is neither sufficient trust nor sufficient good will left to do so.

Honestly, there is really no point in even trying to decide who is to blame, as the condition is now self-perpetuating. What is left, is the question of whether it is possible for the resulting factions to even co-exist, in the long term. My best guess is that it is not, and that this state of affairs is likely to remain, until the country actually splits, along lines yet to be determined.That will probably happen within a generation, perhaps considerably sooner; there's really nothing on the horizon to mitigate against it.

I am tired of this liberal conservative nazi communist crap of yours. Just kidding..... Good post.

I believe their is a certain degree of laziness in this country. It is easier to name call, blame and regurgitate talking points heard elsewhere than to think. Due to the polarization the country is increasingly difficult to govern.

 

[editec]

You can tell when a post that is focused on the issue is going to go to crap.

The moment a poster starts talking about another poster?

It's pretty much the end of all intelligent discussion.

The ONLY way to prevent this from happening is to IGNORE all posts that talk about the shortcomings of our fellow posters.

Attacking the message, rather than the messenger is the only way to leep these threads from dying a TROLL death.