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Originally Posted by irateplatypus
a TFP'er must first care enough about politics to enter this forum, he/she must find a current thread of interest, read all the responses (hopefully), form his/her own opinion, craft a response, and submit it and put themselves "out there" for all to rip to shreds. the nature of a online board such as this dictates only persons with strong opinions will do this on a consistent basis. only fervently held opinions will provide the motivation for going to all that trouble. there are a lot of people with very moderate opinions... however, those people simply pull a lever every other november and don't make much noise otherwise, much less cause a ruckus on TFP.
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I wanted to point two things out in your post, Irate:
First, I would sincerely hope that the respect towards all members does not disappear out the window just because a Forum is labeled Politics. While it is well known it is perhaps the most heated place for discussion, making the assumption that it is acceptable to degrade posters is not conducive to solving any of the divisiveness on this board. A compromise might be reached if those who have a mindset of "I'm gonna get ripped to shreds" at least post with an open mind and the willingness to do more research based on what comes back : The repliers in turn need to lose the blinders that habit and misguided passion sometimes create, and realize that your positions and opinions really can be everchanging, if you are consistently reviewing and evaluating new information, and not just taking the bits and pieces that fit the mold you have created for yourself.
I am a Moderate (Social Liberal and Fisc Cons) and have been shifting from Republican to Independent/Libertarian over the last year. During my time as a hard blood Republican, I spent so much time campaigning that I lost my voice twice, and spent more time doing campaigning than I did work or school combined. My decision to step away from getting involved in TFP politics stems from the fact that I AM moderate, which would lead me to agree with the poster in the OP. Just because I do not post frequently in Politics, I would hardly call myself a simple lever pusher. I do not feel that I should have to be other than myself in order for my opinions to be valid, if expressed in a thoughtful and considerate manner.
Perhaps something to think about
: Passion alone is not the Key. Passion provides a motivation, but so does Natural Inquiry, Neccessity, Fear, and even Fun. There is an element of skill involved when making posts - while the motivator gets the ball rolling, it cannot BE the argument. Understand everyone will have a different perspective. Sometimes civilly asking someone why they feel the way they do, giving them a chance to respond, and asking questions where things don't make sense to you goes a LOT farther than Proclaiming your side as truth and hotly contesting any other opinions ... who knows ... maybe they know something you don't. Wouldn't hurt to listen and take that into consideration.