Respectful Politics Thread (Let's Just See)

[jvcarroll]

Couldn't read this opinion piece without thinking of many of you in here. Lotta truth in this and I believe that Censoredalso has echoed this same thought many times in here.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/opinion/trump-midterms-robert-de-niro-samantha-bee.html

Trump himself is a celebrity with a big, foul mouth with nothing constructive to say and he rode that to the White House, so there's that. But we can and should do better no matter what that guy does. We need to talk substance and policy and not muddy that with language, anger, and hyperbole that all undermine a greater message. I very much agree with that. We're not going to get better than Trump if we keep acting like him. It's soooo friggin challenging not to engage with trolls and trolling, but we need to use the winning Obama method: When they go low, we go high. The one time he went low, making fun of Trump and his birtherism at the correspondent's dinner, it created President Trump! Truth!

 

[jvcarroll]

You don’t respect OR believe in Santa Claus?!

He knows what he did!

 

[jvcarroll]

You're owning this thread, man.

Though I will say I'm very happy that we've all taken the "respectful" bit of that title to heart in this thread. This is the most peaceful political chat this forum has ever had.

I'm going to second that. I don't always agree with MR's posts, but I'm liking the way he's been communicating his thoughts. It's been admirable thus far. A good standard even.

 

[MuppetsRule]

You're owning this thread, man.

Though I will say I'm very happy that we've all taken the "respectful" bit of that title to heart in this thread. This is the most peaceful political chat this forum has ever had.

Thanks. While I do disagree with President Trump's immigration plan I think this highlights how careful one has to be when reading any news story and especially quick hitting tweets or social media stories. There is soooooo much out there that just isn't true.

“A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.” Said by C.H. Spurgeon way back in 1859. 1859!!! Now imagine how much faster a lie travels in today's world.

This study by I believe Twitter reinforces what Spurgeon said some 170 years ago.

https://www.tweentribune.com/article/junior/false-stories-travel-way-faster-truth/

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Net Neutrality has officially ended this week.

 

[CensoredAlso]

It's the opinion piece titled

How to Lose the Midterms and Re-elect Trump

Excellent, excellent article! It makes me feel guilty though because I know I haven’t always lived up to this in my interactions online. And it’s partly cowardice on my part. I don’t mind taking on conservatives, but taking on liberals is more intimidating for me (I know it doesn’t seem that way here, heh). I shouldn’t have used conservatives as an easy out.

As for the question of celebrities, I have to say, I couldn’t be more embarrassed by their behavior of late. Really living up to the stereotype of actors being inarticulate without a script. Even with a script Samantha Bee ain’t much better, lol.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s been only one actor whose response I have really admired:

Interviewer: Lane [Davies], the first question of this series is a traditional one. How do you perceive today’s world?

Davies: I am an optimist. Despite all the troubles around the world, the human species is evolving. In general, we are less violent and less predatory than we have been in the past. This gives me a reason to be optimistic about the future.

Interviewer: Your optimism is quite surprising given the fact that you come from the US and given the reaction of most of the Hollywood to the new Trump administration…

Davies: I love my country, I love the United States. I do not always agree with what the leaders are doing and I do not always like the people who are leading my country but I stay away from politics, so I can remain optimistic about the future of the United States and its place in the world. It is not that I do not have opinions, but rather the fact that I am an actor of a limited celebrity doesn’t makes my opinion any more valuable than anyone else’s, so I stay quiet about it. In the United States, the society got so polarized, that if you support one party or one candidate over another, you can alienate fan base. I do not stay quiet out of cowardice but I want people to look at my characters, not my personal politics or personal life.

 

[jvcarroll]

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I truly believe in all of this quote and having it over this divorced hypocrite. It popped up in my feed again. Waiting on/serving people that one doesn't like or agree with isn't a hardship. It's called adulthood and doing your darn job! Our nation has begun infantilizing these people who should never hold the jobs they do unless they want to serve the public. She had a public job so there's no excuse here. Putting a stamp on a page because someone has their legal affairs in order is not tantamount to personal participation or endorsement. Her job was essentially as the arm of the state. Nothing more. The narcissism and arrogance of people these days is so great.
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On the other hand, you've got the cake bakers. No, I wouldn't want a cake from someone who didn't want to bake it for me, but that's not the point. We shouldn't even be aware of what a vendor is thinking. That's just not professional. A commercial business has a duty to serve the public - even a small business. Sometimes progress requires a federal push. Things didn't really start to change for black people until luncheon counters, bathrooms, and water fountains were desegregated. People still held their prejudice. You can't legislate that, but much of it began to melt away with time once the enforced stigma went away. It's still bad and there are still bigots, but it's not what it once was. Back to the cake. If a business owner didn't want to put a particular same sex cake topper on their product write a particular message or the engaged couple's names on the cake, that's fine. But saying the cake itself is somehow a message is downright childish. Things will not change in this country until we separate what is a childish tantrum from what is mutual respect.

 

[D'Snowth]

I agree with that quote 100%. I've faced actual persecution many ages and moons ago for being a Christian - when I see these Christians today whining about how they're being persecuted, censored, and oppressed, I just roll my eyes, because they aren't in the least - they're just being petty and childish.

 

[Old Thunder]

It’s a good quote, but it can apply to so much more than just religion...

 

[CensoredAlso]

I've faced actual persecution many ages and moons ago for being a Christian

I believe you, and that is where the problem began. There is anti Christian bigotry in the country. And it paved the way for some Christians to start overreacting to everything (Starbucks cups, etc.). And such overreactions allowed the left to blissfully ignore the actual anti Christian bigotry that goes on.