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Big problem I see on this forum is absolute intolerance for differing points of view.

Something I've been saying for a while now, SOME here seem to live in a world where there is only black and white, no shades of gray. Now (obviously) there is black and white, BUT there are also shades of gray. I admire people with passion, BUT (there's that darn word again) passion must be tempered with reason.
Example: Terri Sciavo case, some have said that because George and Jeb Bush didn't save her we've (america) lost the moral highground and can no longer make moral judgements as to how other nations treat their people.
(What utter nonsense)

I agree about the shades of gray. I am not a big believer in the nuance thing but, sometimes a situation rises where there are extenuating circumstances. I think most times the gray option is an excuse for people not having the courage to do the right thing and sometimes it is legitimate. I was torn on the whole Shiavo case and I refused to voice an opinion or even a question because the speech police were roaming all of the threads. I could see the legitimate arguments on both sides. The problem with that case is there was a lot of false or manipulated information out there created by both sides to stir emotions. It was hard to know what was true towards the end. I take everything I come across as a learning experience. I hope the rest of the nation learned from this and gets their affairs in order asap. We have ours done and my parents and sister had theirs done years ago.

IMHO, this place is just a microcosm or mirror of society at large. The outside world is increasingly polarized, too, with both sides completely unable to hear the other.

Passionate discussion is one thing and can be good - gets the blood moving :lol:, hones the arguments, and such. But too quickly it devolves into name-calling, mud-slinging, finger-pointing, vitriolic attacks. The issues end up getting lost in the acrimony, and it's a shame.

I don't know what the solution is (except for everyone sit down, shut up, and chill out when things get too heated, or have the self control to stick to the issues and not get personal) but to be honest, I'm not hopeful it will get solved.

I've seen board after board go up in flames like this - it comes and goes, but each time another group of valuable posters leaves because they just get sick of the BS, and they often aren't replaced, or are replaced with people less interesting and articulate than they are.

We all have something to learn from each other no matter how ferociously we disagree. The question is, can we keep from killing each other long enough to learn it?

Just my $.02.
LQ