Why so much hatred in politics. I would like your input.

[iNviNciBL3]

Originally Posted by casual18

Right to the question, Why is there so much hate in politics these days? Has it always been there but now with everything we do online is it just more obvious? I'm younger and have only voted since Obama first became president, but was it always this bad back in the 1990s or later?

I don't understand where all the hatred comes from within each side in today's environment. If I am a Republican why do I have to hate all Democrats, or if I'm a Democrat why should I despise all Republicans? It seems that no one can have a civilized debate. I like to think of my self as a independent, I have views that align with Republicans and also with Democrats. Yet if I say I have a certain view that leans one way I'm immediately a right wing conservative or a far left liberal. Its like all of a sudden all Republicans are super right wing conservatives and all Democrats are Left wing socialist liberals.

I enjoy debating politics. I enjoy saying a point and debating the pros and cons of such. One where if a view leans right I'm not a racist or if a view leans left I'm not a cry baby snowflake. Its become immensely hard to find people who aren't completely set in their ways. I will be the first to admit I have had views that when I discussed them with someone else they showed me a few things I didn't take into consideration and my views changed. I feel like once you set your heels in the dirt and get defensive it causes the other person to shut you out and there is no movement or legitimate discussion. Id rather bash my head off the ground than have a argument with these people.


Id love to know what this forum thinks, and get inputs from people of all areas. My opinion is that since people can post what they do when they do it we have grown this sense of self-importance that "My View is the Law and Yours doesn't matter".



My apologies if this seems like a rant, I'm just frustrated in today's political climate.

Lol politics has always been ugly, its all over exaggerated by the media today so it looks worse than it really is... you don't have to "hate" people with different beliefs than yours, thats a decision you make on yourself.... debating politics is never going to go smoothly, people have their beliefs and they are usually always going to stick to them, you can talk about them but you cant debate another persons worldview.

[mkpunk]

Politics was always dirty. In the 1800's young men were enticed by beer and women to vote for specific parties and even threatened at times to vote for a specific candidate. It may not be as drastic today but it is toxic none the less due to the vitriol in most speech about politics. I'm no angel on this, I'll be the first to admit but let's face it no matter who won we would have sore winners and sore losers. Me I want America to succeed but every damn thing I've feared so far with a Trump presidency (and the reasons I couldn't vote for him and voted against him on) has come true.

[Spikett]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

Income inequality has been brought up a few times, and I think is a huge wedge issue at the center of many debates. It doesn't really explain the differences between R's and D's directly, but if you look at it closely, you can see that much of the disagreement comes down to how to solve the problems related to it.

As well, there's a large disagreement over prioritization of issues. For instance, I think income inequality, global climate change, STEM education/training (in all forms, not just in traditional schools), and the repurposing of our manufacturing centers of the country (perhaps into renewable energy research and production centers) are our largest issues. Some people completely disagree, or even think some issues aren't even real (such as climate change)...It's hard to have a legitimate debate with someone if you first can't even decide on what the 'real' issues are (or with someone that is skeptical of data and science).


Also, we have had a polarized political climate for a long time now, and it has only intensified (especially with a wildcard like Trump entering the picture): Political Polarization in the American Public | Pew Research Center


I think the parties have gone increasingly further to the edges, and most people in the country (who are moderates) have been left with terrible political choices. This has caused a lot of contempt for the system and created a "helpless" feeling for many.


Couple all of this with the rise of the Internet, mobile technologies, and social media services, and suddenly it seems like there are a lot of unhappy people everywhere. This has given a voice to everyone...which is good in theory, but isn't always in practice (I'm not against people having a voice, btw...).

^^This. I know some good people who I strongly disagree with on politics. You nailed it on the priorities list. These are just regular folks, going to work each day or retired. They have good hearts but even on the things we both want, we don't agree on how to get there. They are also biased (as are many on both sides) so instead of learning things, they just believe anyone who says anything they already agree with.