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Originally Posted by filtherton
People see what they want to see. If you want passionless, well reasoned discussion than you're amongst the wrong species. We are human and this is the internet.
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I am not saying that at all. Passion is what drives us, why would you think I want "passionless"?
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Originally Posted by filtherton
If you see a thread in whose participation you would only find grief, then by all means, save yourself the trouble. It seems rather odd to me to willingly and repeatedly slam one's head against the wall and then complain about having a headache.
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This is basically the point I was trying to make. Last year, I found I could participate in quite a few discussisons around here. Now, it seems that a majority of the threads will give me a headache, so I stay away from them. I used to willingly stand up and defend Bush, his admin, conservatives in general....but that became a head-banging event as well, so I have pretty much stopped that as well.
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Originally Posted by filtherton
This forum is what it is, and if it doesn't excite you anymore, than perhaps that is more a reflection of changes you have undergone rather than what happens here. There comes a time in every one's life where they realize the absolute futility of political discussions on internet forums as a means of finding a greater truth.
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Rather than just go away, I thought I would share my opinion and feelings about it. If I just sulked away, what would that accomplish? There is really a diverse group of opinions here and I think we could learn a lot from each other if we learned how to get our message across without alienating everyone.
Has anyone not noticed that there are very few long-term conservative voices around here? Why do you think that is?
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Originally Posted by filtherton
The only imbalance now is a lack of stubborn conservative ideologues.
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Exactly
Maybe I am not being clear with what I am trying to say, but I can't think of a different way of saying it.
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Originally Posted by hannukah harry
kma,
you say you don't want to be put on the defensive, that if you are then the person delivering the message will find their message unaccepted.
i say that as long as the message does not fit into your world view, does not match your oppinions, you will automatically be put on the defensive.
how can one possibly say soemthing like 'bush's plan on SS is wrong' (with a list of reasons following it) if you agree with his plan and anytime someone says otherwise puts you on the defensive.
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I completely disagree with this statement.
I have been involved with several discussion in the past with people that I don't agree with, yet I wasn't put on the defensive and neither were they.
An example would be
smooth. He and I are at complete opposite ends of the political/social/economic spectrum, yet we can discuss many different topics without putting the other on the defensive. In the end, we both know that neither will radically change their opinions, but we might have a new found respect for the place where the other person is coming from.
Once we have some semblance of respect for people we disagree with, we have common ground. Once common ground is achieved, we can move forward and accomplish more. The problem here is that common ground is rarely achieved because of many of the pre-conceived notions that the "other side" is always wrong because they are the "other side". (Note: I didn't say which side, my point applies to both sides and it also includes me as well--I am as guily of it as the next person).