Is there any point?

In people trying to dialogue across the political/cultural divide that is?

I'm beginning to find myself agreeing with those who say it is a wasted effort.

Points of agreement are hard to come by. If we discuss the broad and general, then we have quite a bit of agreement. But whenever we start looking at the details we find that our view of the world are poles apart.
People who are social and feel that they need to belong to a larger group will have quite a different view of politics than a person who identifies himself as a rugged individual, weak family ties, or maybe strong nucleus family.
This is a very steep hill to climb.
So what should be the role of government? That should be decided before any consensus can be achieved in regards to health care, welfare, military, Mexican border, social programs, etc.

Well, it seems that there are some here that just want to piss off the other side.

Then there are some that make a point, a proven wrong, hibernate and then come back and make the same point again and again.

There are those that post because they see politics as an "us vs them" and my side needs to win every argument.

Then there are those that come to argue, never mind that their argument is twisted and lengthy, they have decided an issue and will twist the argument to support their predisposed idea.

Then there are those that don't know why they are here.

I'm not sure where I fit in. I think that the divide between many here is too great to find any political common ground.

Discussions are funny! I learn a lot reading both sides, but when it comes to passionate issues one has to take them with a grain of salt. To be honest, AV, I mentioned you last night, I said there was nothing better than AspenValley and Printsmith debating a topic. I have learned a lot from both of you. Please continue presenting your sides, it is not a wasted effort, and it is appreciated.

I'm not terribly worried about whether we "agree" or not.

But it would be really, really nice, to simply post something along the lines of "This is how I see it", without idiotic choruses of "you're drinking the koolaid again!" or....."You worthless (liberals, conservatives, communists, nazis" all think alike!"

What should be the role of government? How can we ever agree on that when even in this really small 285 community we can't agree on how to speak to each other in ways that we all feel respected even when we vehemently disagree?

That, AspenValley, is why I mentioned you and Printsmith by name. I know you don't agree on everything, but you keep it at a professional, or at least an adult, level. :thumbsup:

I agree, there are difficulties in communicating. I think it will take a while to figure out how to do so effectively.

But, now we have the opportunity to do so, without fear of excessive 'moderation' shutting us down before we can even start.

I think that is a point worth exploring, to see what we can make of it. I hope all who are really interested in communicating, will continue to try, and help to make this a truly useful venue.

The opportunity is here, what will we make of it?

One thing that might aid in keeping things civil is the constant realization that this forum provides anonymity so any remark should not be taken as a personal insult. It seems that we are face to face and an insult is a personal attack, which is impossible considering the fantasy of the personas that we adopt.
Humor and discussion and exchange would seem to be the enjoyable mode in these forums.
(And some of the avatars do not help at all)

Its so simple, post a question that effects most of us and ask for solutions. Don't ask for massive changes, just one thing at a time. Most post a hot headline from an already polarized source, then wonder why the other side jumps all over it. Duh!

Scruffy wrote: Well, it seems that there are some here that just want to piss off the other side.

Then there are some that make a point, a proven wrong, hibernate and then come back and make the same point again and again.

There are those that post because they see politics as an "us vs them" and my side needs to win every argument.

Then there are those that come to argue, never mind that their argument is twisted and lengthy, they have decided an issue and will twist the argument to support their predisposed idea.

Then there are those that don't know why they are here.

I'm not sure where I fit in. I think that the divide between many here is too great to find any political common ground.

Have to agree with you there Scruffy. Also would like to say that unless we are able to come together as a community, face to face to try and come up with solutions to get our community back on track... we are all just spinning our wheels and things will remain status quo. Thanks Scruffy for sharing your thoughts.