The conversation must go on.

I enjoy your posts even if occasionally I don't get the gist at first ... I just need to wait for a few comments and it becomes clear!

In my experience, most of the heated exchanges on social media lack rational thought and because there is no good argument against a comment, the typical response of the uneducated is simply to be aggressive and name call. I stopped posting on social media because it honestly made me think far less of people I otherwise really like.

Not a fan of irresponsible provocation. The pot is so stirred already, we need listening and healing. And there is an infinite amount of intelligent well being available on my curated Facebook world.

We have a political detente in our house. The moment it gets heated, we stop talking.

I have been quite sadly surprised by many of the comments I read on Social Media. People I otherwise 'thought I knew' really surprise me with their thinking. I 'go-on' so much less now; I'm tired of the negativity, snipping and general semblance that manners, respect for others' feelings, and educated opinions no longer matter.

We have become more divisive, in part, because of social media

There is an incredible amount of anger out there right now.

On the right, you have people who for decades were accused of being crazy, of just making things up for political gain. This past election, its accompanying revelations and the following year saw a lot validation of the anger felt towards players and tactics pent up for many years. Many will still deny it as even Democrats like Donna Brazile and Liuz Warren are forced to admit it.

On the left, you saw people who had grown very comfortable controlling the message for generations. We evolved from Walter Cronkite to Dan Rather to Chris Cuomo and as our country, through technology and social media, rejects what used to be the main stream media sources, there is anger and confusion from the left. Now competing messages are able to be distributed to the masses and what was once accepted as truth and objective is now accepted as such no longer.

It is hard to find anyone who cares that is not biased. Perhaps the most dishonest people out there are the ones who pretend to be unbiased. Fox News and NBC have their clear slants on the news, but they basically take ownership of it. CNN, which has now moved from "The Most Busted Name In News," to "The Bunny Burner Network," because of its unstable obsession with attacking President Trump 24/7, still actually pretends that they are objectively reporting news rather than strategically re-distributing propaganda.

Nonetheless, the level of animosity is unprecedented and truly dangerous. I remember seeing disaster movies from the 70's when I was a kid. It was almost laughable how horrific a view they had of humanity as they showed people trampling each other
trying to save themselves from impending doom. I just didn't recognize it as the same world I was living in. Now, we see people screaming in the streets like animals, literally throwing things at each other. Many call it protest, but I never saw Dr. King behave like this in any clip I ever saw. On the news today, there were actually two stories of people running other human beings over in their car, one after an accident, the other after a road rage incident. In both cases, they ran them over and then just drove away. The episodes of mass violence don't need repeating. We are regressing in our savagery and it is an accumulation of our societal ills.

I see people on both sides espouse hatred in their quest to advance their ideology, to win. The level of maturity on both sides has reached record lows. Many can blame Trump's abrasiveness, vitriol and buffoonery, while others will reflect upon the rampant corruption perpetrated by the Clinton machine since many of us began following politics. Like most feuds, you can whine all day and night about how, when and where it started, but all that matters is how do we bring it to an end.

I don't have an answer to that, but I know this...

If people on the left think that what they're watching on CNN every night and trying to bring down a duly elected American President is going to accomplish that...then what we are living through is tragically just the beginning.

There are many who are comfortable taking the high road and looking for bi-partisanship as long as they get their way. I know when Bill Clinton beat George H. W. Bush, Republicans were devastated, but they went to work on crafting a better message. I know
when George H.W. Bush beat Al Gore, we had law suits, protests, people screaming and pushing each other almost right up until the inauguration. I know when Barack Obama won his first election, I and many joined in and emotionally celebrated a monumental moment in this country's history. I know when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton, we had people screaming in the streets, protesting, throwing things at each other and even physically attacking each other.

For years, I loved talking politics with people...now I hate it. The title of your blog is "Differences of Opinion." I know for a fact that I have always respected other people's opinions. and anyone who has ever had a political discussion with me will back that
up. I find myself to be in very small company with regards to showing such respect. There are very serious issues in the world. However, none of them, not war, not abortion, not corruption...not even collusion with the Russians warrant us tearing each other apart from within.

Our founding fathers bestowed us with the ability to civilly and peacefully seek a more perfect union. We have to maintain a firm grip on our commitment to using it and respecting each other in the process.

Wow ! What Erik said . Tough act to follow . In my house Diane has a favorite saying . "Everybody has a right to their own opinion !" That would apply to everybody but me I think . Fred.... When all is unusually quiet you have a knack of rocking the boat . Something provocative like "and then there were two " or eenie meanie money mo . You solicit the acrimony on your page and yet condemn it . A quiet Sunday becomes for me a necessity to rant . Backed by your army of sycophants somebody like me , an outsider and further right than Atilla the Hun is never on the same page . Our creator and perhaps Darwin himself never envisioned the monkey wrench of social media thrown into the mix . It's overwhelming . I've been called names And have responded in kind . Gutterball I like to call it . Demonizing and being demonized for opinions that do not match . Think like us or try not to think at all . Not to get into specifics . I just do not understand the resistance from the get go . It's like a fight to the death and therefore to survive I have no choice but to fight . Not my happy place . But like Mr Scheibe so eloquently stated . In a nutshell how did we go from Walter Cronkite to Chris Cuomo for God Sakes ! So do you know that last week someone I've known for more than 65 years and idolize feared that I was a racist . Hurtful . So what Erik said and this .

Hollander Sends

Why the fear you're a racist?

I use facts and hit with precision and incisiveness when necessary and deserved.

Agree with much of the above. The pot has been stirred and heated to the point of boiling over. Tragic and dangerous. I agree that when people are uneducated and can’t explain or defend a position beyond the emotional, the default is: “I don’t agree with you, so you’re an idiot or an a-hole!” These ad hominem attacks are logically flawed and destroy the possibility of productive discourse. Rather than provocation, I encourage my family, students (and myself!) to ask: what is the other person RIGHT about? What don’t I understand? What could I explain or learn to understand better? What if I truly believed that 50% of this tension was MY FAULT - and only 50% was THEIRS?
Hoping we all make it through the most decisive and acrimonious time I can remember. (Did anyone out there just catch themselves saying: “well it’s devisive because it’s (blank’s) fault?? ;)

The worst for me - is politics is now banned at Thanksgiving dinner.
Our opinions in my family differ :(