That's about the size of it---so knocking somebody for posting a tangent is probably pointless, and knocking them for an on-point reply to someone else's tangential post is downright silly.
That's about the size of it---so knocking somebody for posting a tangent is probably pointless, and knocking them for an on-point reply to someone else's tangential post is downright silly.
If everyone in FR followed that discipline, we might have some very short "conversations" ...or not!
I would like to attempt to raise my horror threshhold regarding opinions from FReepers and pick up the topic of DRUGS, from recreational mind-manglers, to pharmaceuticals, taking up some substantial discussions about pragmatic solutions (the kind of thing I naively hoped might occur a couple weeks ago on that nonviolent drug offenders and release from prison post).
It could be (gulp) profitable to (gulp) confer about the issue of what policies could look like in a more rational America. Perhaps I could pick an article and start a thread in "RLC Liberty Caucus" -- that should be a nice quiet corner.
Anyone interested?
My Caveat: I would hope we could keep the range of opinion from just flying off into "no legislation, none of the time." That gets me wanting to join the Union troops and fight for the blue! If capital "L" Libertarians flood it with their favorite flaming fodder, it would crash and burn. Personnally, not looking for the lazy man's vision of utopia, nor the idea that if we have trouble with enforcing a law, just write it off like Worldcom, and who needs laws anyway? `-> That would just show that those who post for drug law liberalization are being disserved by an Totalibertarian assault.
I'm not really optimisitc about this, for those attracted to drug threads*, but it would be interesting to have a discussion about what might promote our welfare and our liberties significantly better. Once again, neither (actual) authoritarianism, nor anarchy --and the authoritarianism that inevitably follows chaos-- are quite the aim.
If we could have such a discussion, I might even invite tpaine. Well, afterward, anyway, eh tp?
I suppose it could be thought of as a test to see ""we"" could come up with rational answers for our People's governance, per this matter. Once again, not optimistic, but maybe two competing consensi(sp?) could develop. Maybe.
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*Come to think of it, I used to know someone who wore drug threads -- why "freaks" used to wear all those patches, don'tchaknow. Evidence that yes, there is something in their jeans.