Quote of the day: Clash of viewpoints vs. Discussion in the pursuit of knowledge

[sanahtlig]

Time Magazine - Former Intel. Official: American Hate Is a Bigger Threat Than Foreign Terrorism

The quote I found most compelling applies even to the sorts of Internet discussions about non-political topics we have on Fuwanovel every day:

Quote

The notion of having an in-depth discussion about political and social differences with a suspected foreign terrorist or anti-Western cleric gives me less heartburn than the idea of discussing hot-button issues with my fellow American on the far right or left. I’ve done both, and the latter leaves me far more angry and embittered almost every time.

...

Talking with someone who has the world at his disposal but chooses to cling to certain viewpoints is so much more difficult than sharing ideas with someone who has had limited or no exposure to my world. With the latter, I know there is a very real possibility that we will learn from each other, even if we continue to disagree. With the former, that doesn’t even feel within my reach.

 

[Clephas]

I'm not really surprised... far right and far left viewpoints are mostly based on emotional arguments without any basis in reality, after all. 

[sanahtlig]

Personally I think the problem is that people are being sucked into pitched battles between interest groups, with money funneled into one-sided advertising that ends up polarizing everyone involved.  It's no longer a discussion.  It's simply a war of ideas with combat lines established and soldiers recruited to do battle for each ideological "nation".  Their job isn't to solve problems.  Their job is to beat the other side senseless.  And that's the current state of American politics in a nutshell.

[Darklord Rooke]

I love it when the war of words isn't about ideas at all. It's two sides both trying to avoid the issue but at the same time paint the other side to be a pack of stupid heads. The amount of linguistic gymnastics they go through, so that while they're saying nothing they sound like they're saying something while also laughing at the other side, is pretty impressive. If they put that sort of effort into their policy and maybe reforming the political system ... it's no wonder people are getting fed up with career politicians  

[Snailmusk]

It's hardly surprising that political squabbles are settled the way they are now. It's simply ineffective to present your niche ideas and expect a clean discussion; hoping your demographic is large enough to beat anyone going for a universal audience will inevitably fail. A potential flaw in the Democratic system we're used to; but at the very least our current system stops tyrannical, power hungry lunatics for running for President. Wait...

[sanahtlig]

23 minutes ago, Rooke said:

If they put that sort of effort into their policy and maybe reforming the political system ... it's no wonder people are getting fed up with career politicians  

I checked: in 2012, the US spent more on its elections ($6 billion USD) than the GDP of Somalia (slightly less than that).  For further context, NASA (probably our best shot at avoiding eventual extinction due to nuclear war and/or climate change) 's budget in 2015 was $18 billion USD.

[Down]

Meh.

Politics is fundamentally about conflicts. Making society is all about finding a way to configure the various balances of powers so as to minimize violence in all its multiple forms. But you're never going to completely suppress violence and conflict. If there's no conflict in the public space, then you're probably living under a dictatorship.

That's, in the end, how things play out: through conflict. Not by discussing in the ethereal realm of abstract ideas and balanced arguments where everyone is equal and rational 100% of the time.

I can't really say much more considering I don't really know the american political climate all that well but I don't really see this kind of turmoil as a necessarily negative thing, I'd rather take it as a sign that things are about to change.

[Darklord Rooke]

33 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

I checked: in 2012, the US spent more on its elections ($6 billion USD) than the GDP of Somalia (slightly less than that).  For further context, NASA (probably our best shot at avoiding eventual extinction due to nuclear war and/or climate change) 's budget in 2015 was $18 billion USD.

*Whistles*, that's a lot of money to elect someone that makes minor changes but largely maintains the status quo and not rock the boat  

In the future, China and their Taikonauts will be doing the heavy lifting in space anyway.