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Old 03-05-2005, 11:46 PM   #47 (permalink)
irateplatypus
can't help but laugh
 
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Location: dar al-harb
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lebell
I personally think that some folks fail to see that not agreeing with an argument is not the same as not understanding it.
bravo.

however, i think the driving factor behind most of the vitriol is the mistaken idea that we're all after the same thing. sometimes it is assumed by both sides of a discussion that all are working towards the same end-state. this is untrue and is a fruitless (dangerous?) premise on which to ground a debate.

another thing that i've come to realize is that not everyone wants successes/victories/justice etc. there are some who, for whatever personal reason, don't want anything good in life. there are people who embrace fear, people who manufacture shame, people who feel entitled to things they did not earn, people who sneer at those who are better and want nothing else but to bring them low, people who exploit the misery of others.

now, i know that disagreement with my own views does not place a person into one of those boxes. i don't equate difference of opinion with such dreadful things... but i do recognize that there are people who do fit such an awful description. i have met people with whom i can find no common ground simply because they desire nothing more than an end to their own miserable existence and the abolition of joy for anyone else.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill

Last edited by irateplatypus; 03-05-2005 at 11:49 PM..
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