I'd agree that it's wise whenever possible to lower the political volume, and both sides not go for the jugular every time they can.
well, great! ???? we did it, everyone!
problem solved.
But I ask the question: How do we as reasonable people lower the volume with a Democrat-Bolshevik party that makes crystal clear the...
Aww, David, come on, man. the very next paragraph...! ????
The volume is ours, dear sir. We can start here.
I assume your examples are real - haven't checked, but let’s grant benefit of the doubt. Still, for every one you cite, a channel flip or Google search will show the mirror: a different name, same extremism, just flipped politically. For every liberal who calls the orange gameshow host a dictator, there’s a conservative convinced the brown president was a foreign terrorist.
We're a mirror society - extremes on all sides, everyone convinced the other side is the problem. the challenge is that the temp rises everywhere. it leaps from spirited debate to assault on the capital quickly. and just as quickly to attacks in the driveway, or school board meetings. and as "it was the other guy" discourse begins, we miss any moment of accountability that could help. its just libs blaming conservatives, and conservatives blaming libs.
and we're talkin about the
barest of baseline agreements. "Don't shoot at presidents." Check! Next? "Don't assault political figures." With a dash of "or their spouses." Sprinkle in: "Don't attack voters." "Don't cheer on assassination attempts." "Maybe don’t make jokes about successful attacks for a month." (unsuccessful ones get a week)
get a few of these baselines together, and now you've gotta stew goin baby!
the missing magic; don’t just police everyone else. agree to the rule, then hold your own to it. that’s what makes arguments invincible - not the outrage, but the integrity.
(Sorta-related: if you want to see liberals short-circuit, show them clips of the recent Cruz/Carlson chat — conservatives calling each other out. Minds will be blown.)
if we can start cleaning that up, the temperature dips. conflicts and varying points of view still there, but that's good! healthy friciton.
