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Ask yourself--why do you come here? To discuss issues? Or to antagonize?
Civil discourse is about respect and dignity.
Civil discourse does not diminish the moral worth of another person, nor question their good judgment. It avoids hostility and direct antagonism. It requires modesty and an appreciation for the other participant's experiences.
What the hell is happening?
Both sides seem to be hell-bent on destroying the "other." What I see is a never-ending onslaught of insults, ridicule, broad sweeping generalizations, and what-about-isms.
One thing I have rarely seen in my time on these boards...someone admit that they were wrong about something or had their opinions changed due to another posters threads, its all just an attempt to prove the other guy wrong or to discredit, or the 'whataboutism'.
Just read thru some daily posts, you will likely never see things like "Oh I see what you mean now", or "Gee, I didnt know that, maybe I was wrong", etc etc.
One thing I have rarely seen in my time on these boards...someone admit that they were wrong about something or had their opinions changed due to another posters threads, its all just an attempt to prove the other guy wrong or to discredit, or the 'whataboutism'.
Just read thru some daily posts, you will likely never see things like "Oh I see what you mean now", or "Gee, I didnt know that, maybe I was wrong", etc etc.
Well, as an FYI, I have admitted I was wrong, I have thanked other posters for giving me a new perspective, and I have even changed my mind about an issue occassionally. But those things happened during civil and intelligent discussions, not because of insulting, self-aggrandizing, closed-minded posts that are, unfortunately, common here.
I truly appreciate an intelligent discussion. I know the CD moderators try to keep threads relatively civil (thank you Mods!), but I would love to have a section here for controversial issues that has a VERY high standard for posts. Great Debates is supposed to have a higher standard than other subforums, but I for one would like to see the bar raised even higher.
I come here mainly for the entertainment value. That, and just like most others in this world, I think I'm smarter and better than all of you and my musings represent the pinnacle of human thought.
In all seriousness though, at least this place isn't an echo chamber. There are right leaning, left leaning, and other dimensions on the spectrum leaning posters of various types. It's better than any comments section, even of those where people share the same general political beliefs.
Well, as an FYI, I have admitted I was wrong, I have thanked other posters for giving me a new perspective, and I have even changed my mind about an issue occassionally. But those things happened during civil and intelligent discussions, not because of insulting, self-aggrandizing, closed-minded posts that are, unfortunately, common here.
I truly appreciate an intelligent discussion. I know the CD moderators try to keep threads relatively civil (thank you Mods!), but I would love to have a section here for controversial issues that has a VERY high standard for posts. Great Debates is supposed to have a higher standard than other subforums, but I for one would like to see the bar raised even higher.
Agree with you, but the interesting thing is that this forum has a lot more traffic that Great Debates. What does that tell you? Or maybe more accurately, what does it tell you about C-D posters?
Anonymous social media tends to attract and to encourage antisocial and even sociopathic personalities. It has always been that way since the very beginning, back in the days of Bulletin Boards and FTP and Telnet.
The question may actually be which came first? The decline of civil discourse? Or is it the unintended side effect of releasing technology that enables us to behave in ways that would never have been tolerated when the primary means of communication was face-face or the printed word?
Thanks, posters. I know that some people come for actual discussion and to seek new perspectives. I have learned a lot from coming here.
The problem is that if you and I start having a discussion about minimum wage, supreme court justices, gerrymandering etc. we're going to have our conversation completely buried by the most biased and vocal posters of which we have plenty of on both sides of the political fence.
It's like trying to have a reasonable conversation in the middle of a bar fight lol.
Putting bunches of them on ignore helps but only if both parties have done that.
Ask yourself--why do you come here? To discuss issues? Or to antagonize
To discuss issues as well to antagonize the stupid arguments presented by some of these issues, namely SJW-friendly arguments.
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