♫ Rahsheen™

Pew, pew, pew! *Congratulations, you've been victimized by a drive-by friendfeed shooting* - Alex Scoble CISSP

hmm. But you see it only becomes a gang war when others think that being a centrist, liberal, conservative, dem, rep, lib, etc., are derogatory terms or negative attributes. I know that my points of view are very much in line with small government libertarianism. I'm not part of any gang or think someone else's point of view is of lesser value, I just don't agree with it. - Mattie Kenny

I agree, most people have no common sense anymore. Really tired of "political correctness" - Denise via twhirl

I just don't see the point of pointing out your affiliation or anyone else's for that matter. What value does it add to the discussion? It only serves to give people a reason to stereotype and discriminate. Generalize. Whatever other negative things people do to groups - ♫ Rahsheen™

It's all about the donkey and the elephant, man. - Jack Lhasa via Alert Thingy

Denise, can you explain what you mean by "political correctness" in this context? (Not challenging, just curious.) :) - Ayşe E.

It's an example of where categorization is worse than useless. The labels mean different things to different people, so they actually communicate very little information. Talking about specific ideas is more useful, but this can still degenerate into a gang war. Unfortunately, it's just how the human psyche seems to be wired. - Victor Ganata

The most glaring example of how worthless these labels are is in how the Republicans repeat ad nauseam that Obama is "the most liberal senator in the entire Senate." The irony is that many progressives feel that he is actually too moderate and centrist, whatever that means. None of these adjectives convey a single thing about what actual policies he supports. - Victor Ganata

You're either with us or against us. Democrat or Republican. Left or Right. Right or Wrong. Experienced or inexperienced. You have two choices. There is no third choice. Our country has a binary political system. Work within those constraints or be very very annoyed. - Alex Scoble CISSP

Alex, you're right. When it comes down to the ballot box on November 4, we (realistically) only have two choices. But when it comes to engaging real people in actual discussion, the labels are more harm than help, more obfuscating than clarifying. I say, talk about ideas. Forget about the personalities. Unless you just want to be screaming at each other the whole time. - Victor Ganata

+1 Alex, how that sounds! "Drive-by friendfeed shooting", hahaha looks friendly to me. And the pew sound, reminiscent of being shot from peanuts or something - Zu aka ElijahBailey

Yeah, that was a whimsical comment based on Rahsheen's use of "gang wars". And I agree completely with you Victor...that's the only way to have a win win in these discussions. - Alex Scoble CISSP

You make perfect sense, Alex, but that choice between 2 sides is irrelevant until I go into that voting booth. In discussion with eachother, these are just labels that carry stereotypes that derail valuable discourse. They automatically put people at odds with eachother when they may really have more in common than anything else - ♫ Rahsheen™

That's the problem with partisan politics -- everyone takes their own opinion as dogma and refuse open-mindedness. - Shey

I have heard "dogma" used today twice: here about politics, and elsewhere about religion. I'm not sure of the definition, but I'm thinking I don't like "dogma" LOL - ♫ Rahsheen™

Dogma are rules. And usually they are to be adhered to very strictly. Of course being too gonzo about sticking to the rules does not allow one to be flexible in thought or in action. And being inflexible causes stress, particularly when dealing with others who either have other dogmas, or no dogma at all. - Alex Scoble CISSP

Rahsheen, you just put into words what I've been feeling lately. No one party has a monopoly on being "right". Thank you. - Shawn Farner

If a party had a monopoly on right, then we'd have no reason for an election. - Alex Scoble CISSP

Dogma is rigid enforced thinking. Most religions require some form of Dogma, however slight. Politics is full of it as is an awful lot of academia. It's easier to control people if you control what they think and believe. That's what Dogma enables. - Tad, Fool

No prob, Shawn :) - ♫ Rahsheen™

Another way to look at dogma is that it's an idea that you *must* believe in, otherwise you can't be part of the group that espouses that idea. Surprisingly, though, if you look at the history of the major political parties, there really *isn't* that much dogma. We just think there is. And I'm not sure who feeds us that narrative. - Victor Ganata

The other side usually. "They believe in so and so! They're crazy!" - Alex Scoble CISSP

You know how I learned the measure of a republican, Rahsheen? I listened to Rush Limbaugh for a year back in the early 90's at an extremely boring dead-end job. I decided if he was the worst kind of conservative out there, I knew what a liberal democrat was just by contrast. I decided for myself, I wanted to be about as far away from Rush ideologically as I could. And actually, that isn't an extreme liberal. It's more liberal centrist, because Rush is anything but moderate. - Phil Glockner

ROFL, J Phil...I like the cut of your jib. - Alex Scoble CISSP