I like your approach, and appreciate your illustrations. I wish there were more thoughtful exchanges, as there are here. TPTB have helped create an atmosphere that is all about slinging mud and little about listening and identifying mutual/universal concerns. That's the key to me: to remember--and act upon--the core reality that our comm…
I like your approach, and appreciate your illustrations. I wish there were more thoughtful exchanges, as there are here. TPTB have helped create an atmosphere that is all about slinging mud and little about listening and identifying mutual/universal concerns. That's the key to me: to remember--and act upon--the core reality that our common needs outnumber our differences, and that being allowed to have differences is what makes us free.
The problem is that there are tradeoffs with any policy decision, nuances in every law, and grey areas all over the place. It's the easy button to circle the wagons and draw a line in the sand - and bash anyone who crosses it. Having a genuine discussion means breaking free of the circle, running to evade the slings and arrows of your side and the other side, and landing in a chair with someone who has done the same from their side.
For example, I am something of an environmentalist - we compost, don't use chemicals, feed the birds, plant pollinator friendly plants in our garden, haul our glass to the bins where a local company processes it to use for insulation and other products. But I hate windmills due to the bird kills and wildlife destruction and death, and see solar farms in much the same light, especially given the toxic waste in both producing and disposing of them. I also recognize that if the whole world went organic, the crop yields would drop and mass starvation could result. Heavy handed environmental enforcement has shuttered manufacturing and moved it overseas while small factory towns are hallowed out and left to fall apart. My daughter in law is from such a town, and drug use, crime and dilapidated buildings dominate what was once a growing blue collar town. Tradeoffs. We can't find a reasonable middle if all we do is scream at each other. And like you said, keeping us divided is part of the plan.
I like your approach, and appreciate your illustrations. I wish there were more thoughtful exchanges, as there are here. TPTB have helped create an atmosphere that is all about slinging mud and little about listening and identifying mutual/universal concerns. That's the key to me: to remember--and act upon--the core reality that our common needs outnumber our differences, and that being allowed to have differences is what makes us free.
The problem is that there are tradeoffs with any policy decision, nuances in every law, and grey areas all over the place. It's the easy button to circle the wagons and draw a line in the sand - and bash anyone who crosses it. Having a genuine discussion means breaking free of the circle, running to evade the slings and arrows of your side and the other side, and landing in a chair with someone who has done the same from their side.
For example, I am something of an environmentalist - we compost, don't use chemicals, feed the birds, plant pollinator friendly plants in our garden, haul our glass to the bins where a local company processes it to use for insulation and other products. But I hate windmills due to the bird kills and wildlife destruction and death, and see solar farms in much the same light, especially given the toxic waste in both producing and disposing of them. I also recognize that if the whole world went organic, the crop yields would drop and mass starvation could result. Heavy handed environmental enforcement has shuttered manufacturing and moved it overseas while small factory towns are hallowed out and left to fall apart. My daughter in law is from such a town, and drug use, crime and dilapidated buildings dominate what was once a growing blue collar town. Tradeoffs. We can't find a reasonable middle if all we do is scream at each other. And like you said, keeping us divided is part of the plan.