I have indicted myself today. Two long-lasting threads of "debate" have been the superintendent referendum and a lopsided debate about a proposed beach walkover across hallowed ground at Topsail Preserve. After reflecting on the discourse, it struck me...no wonder the country is not moving forward. No wonder the county is not moving forward. Politicians respond to the will of the people. It seems the will of the people is not to move toward compromise. The will of the people is not to find our commonality as humans. Our will is to question motive and intelligence. Our will is to name-call and criticize. Our will is to be furious with those who don't agree with us 100 percent of the time. No wonder politicians at every level are held in such low opinion. They are a reflection of what we think about ourselves and each other.
We are Rush Limbaughs. We are Chris Matthews. We are the Congress we haye
- Thread starter DaleDalbey
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Waltonparent, you have hit the nail on the head. One of the things I heard during the campaign that truly disheartened me was that GOOD people told me on more than one occasion that compromise was not possible. What they usually were talking about was the divide between Nowal and Sowal, but you are correct, the disease starts with national politics and flows downhill. But progress and governing are not possible or sustainable unless everyone is willing to listen and give a little. Thank you for addressing a very important issue.
Danny,
To be clear, I do not think the problem comes from national politics. I used national politics as am example. It is deeper than that. The problem comes from a number of sources and early in life. Too many are taught at a young age to be afraid of anyone different. Too many shows ( radio or TV) masking as news are actually opinion shows not designed to educate but indoctrinate (Fox for conservatives, MSNBC for liberals). Blogs like this can be a problem too, because for most of us, it is easier to anonymously attack a person here than our Southern manners would allow most of us to do in person.
Local, Thank you for making my point. The first sentence of the original post was that I was indicting myself. In case it was not clear to you, that means I recognize I have been part of the problem. Normally, I would attempt ( successful or not) to viciously attack you for your response, but that would be to fall into the trap that I am attempting to argue against. Godspeed on your journey. Sorry that I won't engage.
Have you ever read the comments on facebook or online news blogs/articles (from all kinds of sources)... these are some of the absolute bottom of the barrel kinds of human interaction you'll ever find. Talk about random comments - and vile. Thankfully, this is a community where we all have something in common in South Walton and this little piece of Florida... We don't have to agree on local issues, and it would be terribly boring if we did. But we can contribute, listen, and learn.
I do appreciate reading about local issues here in the forum, and how/why people think what they do. We hear a lot of opinions and some helpful/thoughtful information (from those who take the time to provide it). It helps me to understand all sides of an issue. I always learn something! I learned a LOT from the referendum about school superintendents, our local schools, and local politics that I didn't know before.
However, you have a point! People in our country (or around the world) thrive on our own strong opinions based on select sound bytes, making meaningful debate a little difficult to achieve. Who isn't guilty of this?
I do appreciate reading about local issues here in the forum, and how/why people think what they do. We hear a lot of opinions and some helpful/thoughtful information (from those who take the time to provide it). It helps me to understand all sides of an issue. I always learn something! I learned a LOT from the referendum about school superintendents, our local schools, and local politics that I didn't know before.
However, you have a point! People in our country (or around the world) thrive on our own strong opinions based on select sound bytes, making meaningful debate a little difficult to achieve. Who isn't guilty of this?