Quote:
Originally Posted by rahl
Pan, an opinion can absolutely be right or wrong. If your opinion is that 2+2=6, that would be wrong. I wasn't singleing you out, I was merely trying to convey how a discussion/debate works. You can have opinions all you want, but when you inject them into a discussion that is involving facts/studies/surveys, your "opinion" really has no relevance unless you can provide some sort of basis for it. Without validating your opinion it is meaningless. You seem to have completely missed the point of my previous post and taken it personally for some reason. It was not an attack on you. It was basically a definition of opinion, as well as a definition of discussion.
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See in these cases... facts, studies and surveys are ALMOST ALWAYS open to interpretation and one side will bring in their facts/studies and surveys.... and the other side theirs and then it becomes a pissing match as to who's is more accurate... which leads us back to OPINION.
True debate is my saying I don't believe this and here's why. Then the other side says... ok but I disagree here and here and this is why. Then you exchange ideas look at facts/surveys/studies together and instead of putting the other down, you find a way to compromise to benefit all people.
That maybe pollyanna to some of you but up until Reagan, that was pretty much how things got done in Washington with respect and the Clinton years it just got totally out of hand and has gotten exponentially worse now to where it's all about getting power so that you can put forth your agenda without compromise.
But of course what do I know. I don't have the poli-sci doctorates that many on here seem to act as if they have. I'm just a guy with an opinion who was told it doesn't matter because I didn't qualify it and it has no meaning.
Again... you wonder why this forum (politics) is dying..... right there is your answer. There is no true debate or exchange of ideas it's a pissing match and probably always has been just it has gotten worse and worse because people are no longer allowed to share their views without having to qualify them. So keep arguing the same shit and playing the games and losing more and more people and believing you won. Sad thing about your winning... TFP loses a great part of it's whole.