This forum seems to encourage extremists but then again so does everything else.

I find it a little disturbing and at the same time quite enlightening that in order to get a response on this forum you must have an outrageously extreme viewpoint on a subject. Instead of addressing a subject with ones beliefs and letting a debate build, people would rather come out of their corner swinging. There does not seem to be much of a moderate voice on this site. Then again there is not much moderation left in American politics anyway. Politicians are trapped in a media storm where it is more important to prove the opposing party wrong than to actually solve the problem. Maybe this is why some "sleezy" politicians would rather lie themselves into the ground than ever admit fault. Not only that but when they do admit fault it is a last resort to save face, not what I look for in an apology. All I'm saying is look past all the petty disagreements and realize that perhaps the problem lies within the political rivalry itself.

 

This should be in Political opinions, not current events.

 

I thought it was a little of both it is a current event happening in American Politics, a social movement finally coming to an end; people moving generally from more moderate perspectives to the far ends of the political spectrum. Did you have any thoughts on the content of the post?

 

People are tense and grumpy. The internet does not lend itself to the courtesy real life does either.

 

good point being behind a keyboard always releases people of their inhibitions, at least with strangers i suppose.

 

Good post. I wish the place was a lot more moderate and sane. You're right. You have to stake out a crazy position on the left or the right just to be heard over the noise. I use the words ********** on here several times a day if I'm posting. I would NEVER say these words in real life.

Stick around. You'll see. This place is so extreme it does something to you. You quickly start fighting fire with fire. The thing that gets me the most is the blatant and pervasive racism. Some white person will say something really derogatory about black people and then a black person feels they have to respond in kind. Then the a gang of white people call the black person a hypocrite, etc... Everyday its the same thing.

Every once in awhile a sane balanced Republican engages me in a discussion and then I feel like an idiot because I start out belligerent until I realize the person is pretty cool.

To be honest there are probably a number of Republicans on here I would hang out with in real life. We probably wouldn't talk politics, but there is so much more to life than stupid elections where the only winners are corporations and special interests.

 

I dont agree at all. People are not more partisan because they want to prove the other side wrong. The two sides are completely different in their solutions to solve the problems and more importantly, the future of what this country will look like morally and politically.

The instigator for this are liberals because they challenge the traditional moral values of the country which is what the republicans but mostly conservatives embrace. They directly attack the morals and ethics of the people and want to impose a new rulebook which is diametrically opposed to the traditional views of the country.

Go back 30 years and the democrats espoused most moral principles conservatives did. That is completely different now. They now challenge everything and embrace the philosophy that all behavior should be tolerated. It is one of the most crucial times this country has ever faced from a social and moral standpoint.

 

I have always held that moderates are not very well informed people. They tend to attempt to aviod discussion of hard issues and live in a rainbows and unicorns world where nothing is cut and dried.
Moderation in politics is tantamount to having no opinion.

The idea that "well you both have good points" is cowardly. Take a stand.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

 

Thats exactly right Bubba.

Show me a moderate and I will show you someone who fails to either address issues in this country or is completely ignorant of them.

 

the daily Controversial,

See what I mean? So then we fight. Same thing, every day.

 

says the conservative who was the first person to blame one side for the problem...

 

Haha I do see the pattern, but none the less there are some "good points" from everybody here I agree being on the fence all the time is not good. Being overly moderate is a problem but it is not THE problem. True you must take a stand and it typically falls under conservative or liberal, BUT, in jumping to the conclusion that I think everybody is right and nobody is wrong kind of proves my point. You have forgotten the key to mixed/bi-partisan politics; compromise.

 

Thats not being extreme. Its embracing reality. This isn't the 80s anymore where conservatives and democrats had more common ground. Liberalism has now made challenging all aspects of morality as one of their primary tenants.

And don't pretend you are above the fray. I could easily quote a thread of yours you just made tonight and none of it was moderate or timid.

 

What part of "The two sides are completely different in their solutions to solve the problems and more importantly, the future of what this country will look like morally and politically." did you not understand?

 

Conservatives and democrats?? Seems we now know exactly where you stand. Someone involved in the Democratic party cannot be conservative and a republican cannot be liberal. I am not saying everyone should be completely moderate I am saying why must political views be so black and white? Liberals are great at being tolerant except when they are dealing with conservatives, (that is a generalization, I realize) Also I am a little confused about how Conservatives and Liberals have lost common ground, do we not both share the 14 trillion dollar deficit? seems like a common enemy to me no matter how you want to solve it nobody want to be in debt.

 

Its simple
All you have to do is look at what history tells you.
History tells us (Conservatives) that Socialism and Communism is a FAILURE,but they are still hell bent on pushing it on to us.
History(just recently) has told us not once,not twice,but 3 TIMES you cant spend your way out of a bad economy,but the Liberals are hell bent on pushing that again with the recent Jobs Bill(which calls for more spending) to try it a AGAIN.
And the tactics the Left LOVESSSSS TO USE is when they have no way to defend their record,they turn to smear tactics and insults,im sure you have seen them(posts making fun of Bachmanns hair,or make fun of Palins daughters).(go read Alinskys "Rules For Radicals")

 

Thats exactly right. The lines have been drawn far too clearly to pretend there is any room for people who like to play both sides.

As I said the lines have been drawn. Lets take an example. If you say you are proud of the history of this country you will be labeled a conservative. Now why is this happening? Because you have liberals attacking the past be it dropping the atom bomb on Japan to the founding fathers and their views on slavery. They look for the negative. Even the pledge of allegiance is controversial to liberals. They embrace those who refuse to say it.

Take another. How about supporting singing Christmas carols in school. That also now considered a conservative position. Most people never saw it as indoctrination of Christianity by the state yet it has had war declared on it by liberals who demand secularism in everything and have used the ACLU to sue smaller school districts to remove it or force other schools to do the same.

This is a true battle for the heart and soul of this country and we are in a social war the liberals have started. Its hard to find common ground when a political party has dedicated themselves to fundamentally changing the morality and social structure of the country we grew up in.

 

That's my point texmaster. This place does something to you. There is so much partisan rancor that you have to be hardcore just to be heard over the noise. There has to be another way.

As with most people I am moderate. It doesn't mean I won't take a stand on an issue but I don't swallow the Democratic platform whole. I am fiscally conservative. But that means that I think we should pay down the debt by reducing expenses AND raising taxes. That is not an extreme position, but I will be called a tax and spend liberal. I will be told I hate the rich. I will be called a lazy communist. Then I will react by calling someone a Republican **********. You know, the usual quiet afternoon on PoliticalForum.com.

 

Gone are the days of the conservative Democrats.Todays Democrat Party has been hijacked by Marxist ideas hidden behind the name of Progressives.

Look at how many current Democrat members of Congress belong to
the Democratic Socialist Party Of America,which is why I think the entire Democrat name should be ABOLISHED.The Dem party of the old is GONE.

http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/gov_philosophy/dsa_members.htmReagan once said he didnt leave the Democrat Party,the Democrat Party left him.The hijacked Dem party is hellbent on transforming America into something America HATES!
Then came the Tea Party!

 

Texmaster you aren't a liberal if you think slavery was wrong. You aren't a liberal if you think some of the founding father's were for slavery. I went to a private Baptist school in the South years ago and they showed us a movie about the founding fathers that was made in the 60s and you know what? There was a huge argument in the movie because some of the founding fathers wanted to keep slavery legal. It is only now that you are labeled a left wing nut because you say yeah some of the founding fathers were racist. Big deal. A lot of people were racist back then. I've gone my whole life knowing this and it wasn't a problem, but now all of a sudden it is. Do you think that's a liberal problem or a conservative problem?

I'm a Democrat and I have NO problem with us dropping the A Bomb on Japan. Where do you get this stuff? I don't speak for ALL Democrats but I think that's incredible to question my morals just because I'm a Democrat... especially when I agree with you on this issue.

 

Welcome to Bartertown.

 

Most people are not "black and white." I am liberal on certain topics and I am conservative on others. And on still others I have no opinion. What bothers me is the people that have strong opinions about everything. I'm somewhat ambivalent about gun control. I personally have never had the need to have one "for protection," but I've gone hunting. I don't know how comfortable I would be with a total gun ban, but to be honest with you if guns were banned while I was overseas it would probably take me a couple of years to notice they weren't available for private citizens once I got back. So I am not all that concerned about them either way.

 

History tells us that fighting fire with fire is futile, everybody gets burned. What of the most successful movements in history? Civil rights, women's suffrage, child labor, all atrocities that fought back with non violence. (I realize not everyone agreed such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King JR but who made the bigger difference? even in death.) You are correct not all behavior is to be tolerated, but that does not mean we should become intolerant. It is unfair and frustrating to watch people try to dismantle the principles our country was built on because they are labelled, out dated or even fascist. When those who would like to dismantle said social structure do so only to replace it with what seems to me to be nothing but the equal and opposite of what is already in place. This new social structure says it is OK to be ANYTHING you would like so long as you are not what America used to be. A place where you can be a gay/christian/muslim/liberal/black/white/red/orange person, (not that there is anything wrong with that ) So long as you can not be classified as normal in today's society. But however frustrating this is it is NOT an excuse to be intolerant of people because they view things differently. I only wish they would return the favor.

 

Are you kidding? The ACLU is a huge defender of the constitution. Have you heard of the Skokie Trial? The ACLU fought on behalf of Neo Nazis so they could march in a heavily Jewish town. It's considered one of the landmark free speech cases in our country's history. That's the thing with the Constitution sometimes it allows you to do what you agree with and sometimes it doesn't. Something is not constitutional just because YOU like it.

That's why I tell people to chill on being such strict Constitutionalists. Eventually it will blow up in your face. The Constitution is a crafty document. You have to respect its power. I only break it out under extreme duress.

 

There was a time in America when it was ok to fly the American flag to show patriotism without some wacko group wanting to sue you because its "offensive",when you could pray and say the words God and Jesus without some Athiest nutjob group crying to the ACLU,when it was ok to create wealth without being called a slave to the corporations or a greedy capitalist ,when "share the wealth" meant charity,not taking someone elses earned wealth by force to give to those that didnt earn it,when there wasnt such a division between class and race.race relations have became WORSE under Obama.Remember:United We Stand,Divided We FALL!And we are FALLING.
This isnt the America,the Land Of The FREE I grew up in anymore,but this Progressive crap that has ruined our country is coming to an end,soon,very soon.