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As far as current political events in the U.S. capitol, the status quo cannot be described as "moderate". The 9/11 attacks, war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the revelation that there were no WMD, and the "one party" control of all elected branches of the federal government, crowned by the unprecedented, Dec. 2000 ruling by the SCOTUS that had the effect of determing the POTUS in a hotly contested election that was too close to call by routinely counting the votes,
has understandably set the stage for heated exchanges in this forum.
To maintain an informed opinion; (silly me....I cannot participate here if I am not in command of the details that I respond to, or post about).... now takes an effort, in time and in scope, that requires posting here, to be at least a hobby, and sometimes even more.
irateplatypus posted some good observations about how posts end up on these threads. This place is a crossroads where the effects of the inputs of unprecedented volumes of government sponsored propaganda, biased or spotty MSM reporting, partisan agendas and rhetoric, religious influenced politics, and preconceived notions of race, class, and sexuality, are processed by our brains and our hearts into sentences or graphics, spilling out as messages on the threads of this forum.
If you live in a world where most people who you interact with are of the same mind as you are, politically, this may not be the place for you. I think that the "draw" here is the opportunity for exchanges with people who hold views that seem suprisingly foreign to yours. Is it reasonable to expect the exchanges that result to be characterized as "moderate"? Respectful and measured, yes; civil and restrained, yes; but....."moderate"....no.
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