WHATEVER HAPPENED TO
DEBATE AND THINKING
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with little or no knowledge about the subject opined. Opposing opinions are welcome. The absence of a cranky response to opposing
opinions does not signify agreement. And
please, no name calling. That means you,
you big stupid head!
There was a
time, oh yes there was I remember it, when you could voice an opinion on a
subject and not be put in a box. There
was a time when you could think raising taxes (or vise versa) was a good idea and your
position on any other issue would not be automatically assumed.
There was a
time teachers and professors taught both sides of an issue. When I went to college, the professors often
took the opposing side of any debate a student brought up. You never knew if a professor was
conservative or liberal, you only knew he was on the other side of your
position.
Professors
used to teach you how to think, not what to think. I am not sure this is true today.
I also
learned that no matter what position I took the professors could make me look
like a fool. This did not always change
my opinions, it did teach me to not trust the ideas and opinions of
people just because they were smarter than me (I? I never know, I think it is smarter than I but
smarter than me sounds better to I.)
People do
not discuss issues today; they espouse their opinions and then get pissed off
at the other guy for not agreeing.
Neither party actually listens to the other person; they just wait to
jump in with their tired old talking points.
If you want
to put me in a box; I am fiscally conservative and socially
liberal on most issues, well on a lot of issues anyway.
I have
learned that liberals are not all goody, goody two shoe commie pinko
creeps. Some liberal ideas are worth
considering. Some may be good ideas,
some probably suck. Liberals are not the
enemy; they are simply people with different ideas.
Conversely,
conservatives are not all Neanderthal, rich pricks that only want to keep their
very expensive boots on the necks of the down trodden. Some conservative ideas are good ideas, some
probably suck. Conservatives are not the
enemy; they are simply people with different ideas.
I wish we all could just open our minds and start to think, maybe we could learn to adopt the good ideas and drop the ideas that suck.
I wish we all could just open our minds and start to think, maybe we could learn to adopt the good ideas and drop the ideas that suck.
As kids, my generation knew how to change rules and adjust to changing conditions. Baseball did not have to have nine players on a team, we adjusted to how many kids showed up at the park. If there were sixteen players, then right field became a foul ball. Sometimes you just rotated players from the field to at bat. We made up rules and adjusted however we had to so we could play the game. We listened to the other kids and came up with a way to play.
Our politicians today do not know how to change rules (or ideas) and adjust. They are like the kid who owned the only bat and would take it home if he didn’t get it his way.
I think our
country would be a lot better off if people started to listen, think and
consider other ideas. Maybe we could
even learn to compromise.
Politics today is too much about owning the only bat.
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
As a person who is politically very liberal, I enjoy this post. I actually have many conservative friends and we can always have healthy debate without calling each other names. But I wish the same could be said for congress. They all act like a bunch of middle-schoolers. And that might actually be an insult to middle-schoolers :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed! When you are right you are right, Cranky ... and indeed you are. I would add that it is important for there to be opposing views because it gives us balance. The trouble is the word 'compromise' has taken on the meaning of 'cop out' when 'wisdom' would be a better definition...
ReplyDeletePlease don't tell me we must take the views of misogynistic white supremacists seriously. No compromise there.
ReplyDeleteI think we should probably dismiss the thoughts of Hitler, Stalin, Un, Amin, The KKK, The Black Panthers, and others as too extreme, but I wouldn't ignore them either.
Deleteyou said it quite well. thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou are right on!
ReplyDeleteYou and I are probably on the same page with most things. I've noticed that. I too agree that we quit looking at both sides of issues long ago. It's a shame. Schools are now indoctrinating the young to think as they do. It's not right and if I was raising a family I'd be home schooling.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. :)
I won't deny that I'm a liberal on most issues, but I regret the fact that today's Republican party has lost its way. Time and again they vote against things like infrastructure when our roads and bridges are crumbling. Wasn't it Eisenhower, a Republican, who pushed through the legislation that created our interstate highway program? Weren't Republicans the ones who came up with most of the ideas for Obamacare to refute Hillarycare in the nineties? Why is it that Republicans are currently against so many things they formerly endorsed? Why do they hate Obama more than they love their country? The United States wouldn't exist today were it not for compromise, yet many consider compromise a dirty word. I am not in favor of a one party system but I think the Republicans would be better off if they thought about what benefits the widest number of people instead of a precious few who are prospering more than ever before.
ReplyDeleteInstead of debate and open ideas I despise sweeping generalizations and inaccurate unfair portrayals. But I guess I my hopes for a return to civil debate are naïve. I do not believe that Americans of any persuasion want anything but the best for our country.
ReplyDeleteI used to try to hang with people that were aligned with me politically, now I ignore the politics and try to concentrate on the people.
ReplyDeleteI dropped by to say hello! I have been absent from blogging for a while, and I did miss your posts. It’s good to be back. What a great post. It does not fit my classes, however. We talk about anything and everything from all sides. What you expressed is exactly what is wrong with our system.
ReplyDeleteI think parties should be dissolved and you should have to know what your person actually stands for to be allowed to vote. Not just whether they are liberal or conservative, democrat or republican. I totally agree. Anymore people are terrified to voice an opinion different than the popular position for fear of being labeled one way or another. My parents just taught us to think something through. It didn't matter if others agreed or not. Bah. This new world drives me batty.
ReplyDeleteMy issue is that the other side tells us we are ALWAYS wrong and anything that is accomplished is belittled,ignored,lied about or they take credit for it. When that leadership changes I will be more moderate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly! Yet I have to confess to putting people into a box...why do I do that? Why was I surprised to see a tea party sticker (you know, the "do not tread on me" flag) on a Toyota Prius? Why was I incredulous that a supervisor said he was a Republican atheist (who thought Bill Clinton was a great president)?
ReplyDeleteReally gotta watch that. We should not judge people by one facet of their opinions.
People with different ideas? Well, I'd say that to have an idea you have to at least attempt to understand the topic and that's where all these opinionated weasels lose it as they are staunch believers but if you press them as to WHY they believe what they advocate all too often what you get is a superficial glossing rather than reason. My personal belief is that folks cover their ignorance with indignation followed by anger so that they are never inconvenienced with having to answer why .....'cause they don't know.
ReplyDeleteDebate and thinking have been replaced by pronouncing judgement and parroting.
ReplyDeleteDebating and thinking weren't things I ever learned. I learned do what you are told and don't ask questions. It was a very effective parenting method for my older sister who is retarded and HAD to do as she was told because she couldn't see consequences. but I wish I had been taught to think, even in school we weren't encouraged to be individual thinkers.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I am completely flummoxed when people ask for my opinion on something/anything. because I simply haven't thought past whether or not I like/agree or dislike/disagree. The why is where I come undone.
Couldn't agree more. Most of us today just think / repeat what our favorite news media reports. No independent thinking required. We've become quite lazy.
ReplyDeleteS
Agree 100%. I've always been liberal but getting more fiscally conservative with age. I hate the fact that everything is getting more and more polarized and each side is living in it's own echo chamber. You have to live in the middle and be part of both sides, or at least keep your ears and mind open!
ReplyDelete