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Have we lost the ability to engage in public discourse/ reasonable debate?
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,718
Let me say at the start, the following quote speaks to me. I'm certain that, at times, I have been guilty of the assertions made here. Perhaps some of you have been as well. Thoughts welcome, especially thoughts couched in reasonable debate.
"It began with frustration that everything I was hearing began to sound alike, that it didn't matter if I was in a public hearing or a phone interview, and it didn't matter if I interviewed left or right, logger or tree hugger, people simply read me their bumper stickers. There was a precast set of notions and tenets that set terms of debate, or rather no real debate, no discourse that furthered understanding. In the case of run-of-the-mill politics, I suppose we can get by like this, a lot of chatter and beneath all that, a few plodding bureaucrats who see that the streets are plowed and the sewers run. But I was now writing about the environment, about nature, and this was a far bigger matter. Science derives from the laws of nature; science ought not to exist to simply rehash talking points, but to arrive at answers, and nothing I was seeing in the public debate was taking advantage of those answers. Everyone talked about what they believed; no one talked about what they knew."
Richard Manning; It runs in the Family, p. 203
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.
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1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
A while back I was also wondering which journalistic sources were regarded as more accurate and less biased, so I did a bit of a search on that. Of course, by the nature of these things the results are biased, but in any case I started looking at different news sites. I currently am routinely looking at Reuter’s (terrible display, though), Associated Press, Al Jazeera, and the BBC world news, in addition to CBC which I was always reading. I also like the Guardian, which is more left. There are other sites I read for fun but not so much for news.
Don't believe any of them - fake news. That's scary.
I got my degree in Journalism and there are dedicated journalists all over the world who are just trying to find out the truth - while they're being called the enemy of the people by the President of the United States. Don't label the journalists as bought out by corporations. People want to be journalists, for the most part, to hold the powerful accountable. Many give their lives in that pursuit.
https://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/05/11/declassified-cia-documents-shows-agencies-control-over-mainstream-media-academia/
With social media, people get further and further entrenched into their bubbles and it's tough to even engage with folks who don't agree with all of your points.
The long history of government and intelligence agency involvement with the media, including most if not all of the most respected media outlets in the country and abroad, is absolutely fascinating and eye opening, but nobody seems to know about it, including those among us that like to boast that they are well informed
For example, even if you know just a little of the history, your radar should be going off at the following: In 2013 the WORLDS wealthiest person, Jeff Bezos, purchased the Washington Post. In 2014 Amazon, owned by Bezos, inks a $600mm deal with the CIA.... The Post is known to have longstanding ties to the CIA, which includes outright manipulation and control....... soooooooo, yeah........ but Trump has toilet paper on his shoe...... just ask Alexa
there are just as many examples of the "other side" acting the same. this is not a partisan issue.
many just aren't interested in debate where they might end up on the "losing" end. they need to be right so their interests are protected.
www.headstonesband.com
Now - you don't get my humor and that sucks...but I'd say you are in the majority!