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Whatever happened to "Agree to disagree" or "Middle Ground"?
11 years ago
General
When was the last time anyone said "Let's just agree to disagree, and move on before things get out of hand"?
This has a lot to do with politics, media influence, people imposing their morals upon others, and society in general nowadays... Personally I'm talking form an American standpoint where we have a legal freedom of speech, even if it may hurt feelings, or be considered an unpopular opinion.
Seriously, what happened to being able to having a discussion or debate with someone without it devolving into a shouting match where opinions are treated as facts? More and more it seems discussions are ending up in the "I'm right and you are wrong", or "If you don't agree with me entirely then obviously you are against me and agree with: them, they, the enemy."
It all seems to be a part of the massive divide I have seen growing in all aspects of life where if you are not part of one extreme then you must, automatically, be part of "the other" or "opposing" extreme.
I constantly see this online, on all sides of the media, and in conversations that often started off casual and friendly.
For example these are some of my personal experiences:
If I don't agree with the way Democrats are running certain things I am labeled a republican, conservative, fascist, redneck, sister-fucker. If I don't agree with the ways republicans are running something I am suddenly labeled a commie, pinko, liberal, hippie, pot-smoker.
If I say I don't believe in the popular "god" then I am automatically a hell bound atheist. If I say I believe in the possibility of there being more to the universe than humans can comprehend I am suddenly an uneducated fool that denies science.
If I am pro-gun for law abiding citizens I am labeled as a mass murderer. If I am pro-background check then I must be anti-gun.
If I say global warming, climate change, (insert whatever they are calling it this week here) alarmists are full of shit then I suddenly must like killing baby seals, chopping down trees, and think science is the devil's work. If I say I have planted trees, want to live in an off grid home made of old shipping containers, have extensively studied and taken classes in geology and meteorology, have donated money to Marine Mammal and ferret shelters, or like old bio-diesel cars, then I am an unwashed, hippie, tree hugging, liberal whack-job.
If the slopes get any more slippery, I will need motherfucking cleats on my motherfucking boots.
Also, who the hell let that "Straw man" in here?! Time to light a match.
Your way or the highway? Well apparently I don't have that choice since your highway is still under construction.
And this treatment of anyone with a differing view or opinion as an "Enemy" is getting more and more common.
Just because someone does not entirely agree with someone else on a single issue or such does not mean they hate you or want you dead... It just means they don't agree with you on said topic or issue... Well unless they actually say they hate you and want you dead. *chuckles*
That is why I like to say, "People are entitled to their opinions, even when they are wrong." Because people ARE entitled to their opinions, it is only when they try to force their opinions as the truth upon others that the problems really pop up.
Massive assumptions are made, hypocrisy all over the place, double standards, conclusions are jumped to, baseless or inaccurate comparisons between entirely different things are made, and broad generalizations are thrown left and right; All in the hopes it will somehow "WIN" at an argument, when all it does is just create more problems and furthers the ever growing divide. A person will never win hearts and minds from the "opposition" if they are constantly trying to beat "the other side" into the ground with a "My way, or else!" attitude. Even then, people will still have differing opinions. That is when one needs to agree to disagree, or find a middle ground.
If people didn't have opinions, we would live in a very grey world with nothing interesting to talk about.
This has a lot to do with politics, media influence, people imposing their morals upon others, and society in general nowadays... Personally I'm talking form an American standpoint where we have a legal freedom of speech, even if it may hurt feelings, or be considered an unpopular opinion.
Seriously, what happened to being able to having a discussion or debate with someone without it devolving into a shouting match where opinions are treated as facts? More and more it seems discussions are ending up in the "I'm right and you are wrong", or "If you don't agree with me entirely then obviously you are against me and agree with: them, they, the enemy."
It all seems to be a part of the massive divide I have seen growing in all aspects of life where if you are not part of one extreme then you must, automatically, be part of "the other" or "opposing" extreme.
I constantly see this online, on all sides of the media, and in conversations that often started off casual and friendly.
For example these are some of my personal experiences:
If I don't agree with the way Democrats are running certain things I am labeled a republican, conservative, fascist, redneck, sister-fucker. If I don't agree with the ways republicans are running something I am suddenly labeled a commie, pinko, liberal, hippie, pot-smoker.
If I say I don't believe in the popular "god" then I am automatically a hell bound atheist. If I say I believe in the possibility of there being more to the universe than humans can comprehend I am suddenly an uneducated fool that denies science.
If I am pro-gun for law abiding citizens I am labeled as a mass murderer. If I am pro-background check then I must be anti-gun.
If I say global warming, climate change, (insert whatever they are calling it this week here) alarmists are full of shit then I suddenly must like killing baby seals, chopping down trees, and think science is the devil's work. If I say I have planted trees, want to live in an off grid home made of old shipping containers, have extensively studied and taken classes in geology and meteorology, have donated money to Marine Mammal and ferret shelters, or like old bio-diesel cars, then I am an unwashed, hippie, tree hugging, liberal whack-job.
If the slopes get any more slippery, I will need motherfucking cleats on my motherfucking boots.
Also, who the hell let that "Straw man" in here?! Time to light a match.
Your way or the highway? Well apparently I don't have that choice since your highway is still under construction.
And this treatment of anyone with a differing view or opinion as an "Enemy" is getting more and more common.
Just because someone does not entirely agree with someone else on a single issue or such does not mean they hate you or want you dead... It just means they don't agree with you on said topic or issue... Well unless they actually say they hate you and want you dead. *chuckles*
That is why I like to say, "People are entitled to their opinions, even when they are wrong." Because people ARE entitled to their opinions, it is only when they try to force their opinions as the truth upon others that the problems really pop up.
Massive assumptions are made, hypocrisy all over the place, double standards, conclusions are jumped to, baseless or inaccurate comparisons between entirely different things are made, and broad generalizations are thrown left and right; All in the hopes it will somehow "WIN" at an argument, when all it does is just create more problems and furthers the ever growing divide. A person will never win hearts and minds from the "opposition" if they are constantly trying to beat "the other side" into the ground with a "My way, or else!" attitude. Even then, people will still have differing opinions. That is when one needs to agree to disagree, or find a middle ground.
If people didn't have opinions, we would live in a very grey world with nothing interesting to talk about.
1. Hyperbole- Americans are at a point where if you tell it like it is, you're not going to sell your story; hyperbole, exacerbated by commercial marketing strategies, is now basically necessary to convince anyone of anything.
2. Sociopathy- Sociopathic values have overtaken our culture. One salient feature of the sociopath is the tendency toward "splitting," or of filing things into black and white terms. Modernism has sort of encouraged this habit by its aversion to uncertainty but is not the only factor at play.
3. Desperation- The country is in a crisis of identity as much as an economic crisis. We're fractured, divided, and rudderless. Uncivil discourse tends to take root in such times as rival factions try to dominate the debate.
In all, I predict a civil war by the end of this century... I want no part in it because the dominant factions fighting it out will invariably be cartoonish substitutes for real reform.
Though, what exactly do you mean by "crisis of identity"? I may have an Idea of what you mean but perhaps you can clarify it for me.
As for a civil war, I don't entirely believe that is coming anytime soon if at all as I don't think things are THAT bad yet until gas hits $10 a gallon and the majority of people cannot afford to eat... Well with the way the current media and government is going about trying to either ostracize or disarm the law abiding public, through highly publicized and mass media covered "white person shootings" (if it bleeds it leads, but only if it involves white people apparently) or the government running shady operations like "Operation Choke point" or "Fast and Furious" or the recent release of undocumented criminals, or arming up normally unarmed government agencies like the Board of Education and USDA with fully automatic weapons and body armor and urban assault vehicles and billions upon billions of rounds of expanding soft target ammo like hollow points (saying it is for practice is bullshit), and screwing over military veterans, or going around the constitution through loopholes and other channels like shutting down ammunition plants and any business they don't deem worthy due to "increasing environmental reasons." Or forcing Americans to buy insurance from private organizations under the law, instead of just making a tax and socialized healthcare for all. The whole "bailing out big business but not the people." The massive amounts of student loan debt and ever growing income inequality. Not to mention our weakening ties with allied nations, and the heating up of tensions between the U.S. and the communist nations once more. I see it as much more likely some other "superpower" country gets pissed at us for trying to police the rest of the world and starts more shit than just posturing like N. Korea likes to do all the time.
It seems like there are multiple sources of strife coming from many different angles... Some out in the open and others lurking just below the surface. But LOOK over there! Yes THERE! Away from the important stuff! It's Justin Beiber snorting cocaine off Kim Kardashian's ass while Miley Cyrus takes an entire fire hydrant up her vagina!