Is there anyone interested in finding common ground? Instead of hating people because of their perceived political beliefs?

[NomServiam]

I’m not a person who believes in conspiracy theories. But based on what I see in politics today. And admittedly stopped being sucked in. I’m having serious doubts that there are political parties.
The things that are said, The actions of the people in and or vying for political office. These supposedly very learned, highly educated diplomatic people. These are more of a script of some sort of Jerry Springer show designed to mind fuck and divide the people of this nation. A diversion that they may run amok, unchecked and unchallenged. There is one show in Washington. Everyone there wins. We the people. We loose. Told who to hate. Bombarded completely by commentary and embellishment to out right bullshit. The worse part is so many are hurt by it. Our people. Our nation. Our reputation. So sad.

 

[BrendaD]

So here’s what I want to see in the USA, which informs my political leanings:

I want tax funded or affordable healthcare available to all Americans regardless of their income level.

I want tax funded or affordable educational opportunities available me to all Americans past high school regardless of their income level.

I want women to be able to make medical decisions that affect them.

I want two adult people to be allowed to be married and have all the same benefits of any other married couple.

I want all people to be treated equally by everybody regardless of the color of their skin or their political beliefs or their gender or sexual identity (so long as the sexual identity doesn’t involve underage children or animals).

I want police to be properly trained and vetted so that they do not make as many mistakes while doing their job, especially when those mistakes lead to the death of innocent people.

I want police properly held accountable for those mistakes mentioned above.

I want our tax money used to improve the infrastructure of our entire nation instead of being wasted on our bloated military (there’s no reason we should be spending more than the next nine or ten developed nations).

I want everyone in the country to have affordable housing available to them.

I want everyone in this country to not have to worry where their next meal is coming from.

Tell me about the common ground with the right, please.

I want to add… I hope you don’t hate me now when you see me post on other threads. I am not saying I agree or disagree with you ideas. I do not at all represent either side. Your points are all very valid.

 

[SmokingFap]

This is my first (likely my onl) post in the politics world…

I no longer belong to a political party, because I think both sincerely believe they “clearly“ have moral high ground. And missed the point - we need to find our commonality instead of hating on the “other people”. I now just want to see people recognize that they agree on far more than they disagree with. And the current trend of believing “if you did this, you are that” is stupid. That is just about the best way to destroy harmony by saying if someone has a stance you do not agree with on “this” (no matter what that is), then you should be destroyed and eliminated from existance.

I want to see people find their commonalities instead of negatively focusing on their differences.

And you know what the worst part is? People reading this, are likely spending more energy trying to figure out which “side” I am on, instead of thinking about my lamely presented message. I think both sides are correct… and both sides are wrong.

And I hope I don’t have some ass-hat saying I am a shill for whichever side they hate… instead of actually considering that someone could be asking a sincere concept….

There just plain isn't much "common ground" anymore when it comes to anything that can be turned into a political issue. When we can't even agree on what the facts and reality are, there's no way to find common ground.

 

[BrendaD]

There just plain isn't much "common ground" anymore when it comes to anything that can be turned into a political issue. When we can't even agree on what the facts and reality are, there's no way to find common ground.

That… is terrifying. And likely quite accurate… it would seem the enemies of the US, have won.

 

[Lazaran]

I want to add… I hope you don’t hate me now when you see me post on other threads. I am not saying I agree or disagree with you ideas. I do not at all represent either side. Your points are all very valid.

I’m guessing on the fetish forum you like sitting on fence posts???

 

[BrendaD]

I’m guessing on the fetish forum you like sitting on fence posts???

What a wonderful perspective.

I just fear the US is tearing itself apart by people deciding that “not compromising” is more honorable then finding common ground with people you otherwise like. I actually hope I am dead before this current thinking reaches it’s conclusion.

 

[Bn2f]

That… is terrifying. And likely quite accurate… it would seem the enemies of the US, have won.

No.
I’m optimistic and go back to what I said in the beginning. America loses with an ill informed public that doesn’t vote. The enemy you fear wants you throwing your hands up in despair and bowing out.

 

[RunningJib]

This is my first (likely my onl) post in the politics world…

I no longer belong to a political party, because I think both sincerely believe they “clearly“ have moral high ground. And missed the point - we need to find our commonality instead of hating on the “other people”. I now just want to see people recognize that they agree on far more than they disagree with. And the current trend of believing “if you did this, you are that” is stupid. That is just about the best way to destroy harmony by saying if someone has a stance you do not agree with on “this” (no matter what that is), then you should be destroyed and eliminated from existance.

I want to see people find their commonalities instead of negatively focusing on their differences.

And you know what the worst part is? People reading this, are likely spending more energy trying to figure out which “side” I am on, instead of thinking about my lamely presented message. I think both sides are correct… and both sides are wrong.

And I hope I don’t have some ass-hat saying I am a shill for whichever side they hate… instead of actually considering that someone could be asking a sincere concept….

This is a very refreshing posting.

Me, I'm just searching for individuals that can think for themselves and articulate their position.

 

[Bn2f]

I am going to give you the benefit the doubt, I don’t think you intended to talk about abortion. But many things today in politics aren’t about whether to lower or raise taxes. Peoples lives are on the line. Your life, as a trans person, is at the forefront of this battle along with abortion rights. Come here more often. You should not entrust your body and rights to my conscientious vote.

 

[SmokingFap]

That… is terrifying. And likely quite accurate… it would seem the enemies of the US, have won.

More the domestic enemies than the foreign, ironically.

 

[RoryN]

Both prominent political parties have major, major issues. No question.

Also not up for debate: one is led by a man whose mentor, best friend, and closest confidant, always referred to African Americans as "n*ggers" - Roy Cohn, one of America's biggest monsters, ever. And this man has continued to follow in his mentor's footsteps in his treatment of minorities.

Somehow, some way, as abhorrent as that is, it isn't even the largest of his transgressions against this country.

That party gave him 74± million votes in 2020, after many years of getting to know him as he is.

Yeah...those folks no longer get the benefit of the doubt from me. No olive branches here.

 

[YDB95]

And again, I am not impressed with either party… I don’t see either party wanting government to function.

I really don't mean to be rude here, but this coupled with the fact that you've heard nothing at all about the Kate Cox story...it's only fair to question where (or indeed if) you're getting your news.

 

[Lazaran]

Both prominent political parties have major, major issues. No question.

Also not up for debate: one is led by a man whose mentor, best friend, and closest confidant, always referred to African Americans as "n*ggers" - Roy Cohn, one of America's biggest monsters, ever. And this man has continued to follow in his mentor's footsteps in his treatment of minorities.

Somehow, some way, as abhorrent as that is, it isn't even the largest of his transgressions against this country.

That party gave him 74± million votes in 2020, after many years of getting to know him as he is.

Yeah...those folks no longer get the benefit of the doubt from me. No olive branches here.

I really don't mean to be rude here, but this coupled with the fact that you've heard nothing at all about the Kate Cox story...it's only fair to question where (or indeed if) you're getting your news.

Back to back posts that expressed my thoughts exactly…

Do I need to think more independently???



Naaaaaah

 

[BrendaD]

I really don't mean to be rude here, but this coupled with the fact that you've heard nothing at all about the Kate Cox story...it's only fair to question where (or indeed if) you're getting your news.

I have no idea who Kate Cox is… and you are not rude at all! I follow a “news site” that is supposed to be neutral, based on my internet searches (not Google, those fuckers are totally biased) to find a neutral news site. Clearly no one is trustable now.

 

[YDB95]

Clearly no one is trustable now.

See, this is a big part of the right wing's grand strategy. It's what Steve Bannon was talking about when he called on his followers to "flood the zone with shit". They want everyone to be so confused and disgusted that they throw up their hands and stop even trying to learn the truth about anything. The right, which has no concerns at all with factual accuracy, benefits greatly when people do that. Now, I don't know what makes you think Google is "biased", but the cold hard truth is that the left, while not perfect, has a much better track record when it comes to factual accuracy than the right does. It's not even close. Not to mention that a lot of sources you think are probably guilty of "left-wing bias" are anything but.

Googling Kate Cox would be a good starting point.

 

[BrendaD]

Okay. I found the news stories about Kate Cox. And of course, I do not even remotely agree with what happened to her! And I had heard that story, just didn’t recognize the name. Sorry.

And to say Google is not biased, means your head is so far up your ass, you probably stick forks of food in your belly button. And I reiterate, I do not at all identify with the right. If Donnie cared about this country, he would leave politics forever! That fucking ego maniac has fucked up all kinds of shit… in all fairness, so did Obama. We haven’t had a good president for years. Decades, at best. But to deny Biden is senile is as ridiculous as saying Trump is a “good guy”.

Time for me to bail here… this political world is not where I belong.

 

[EnbyKnight]

Is there anyone interested in finding common ground? Instead of hating people because of their perceived political beliefs?​

I have a few thoughts on your original question and your original post that I hope I can articulate without getting too jumbled.

Do I think everyone in the States could find some kind of shared opinion and/or experience? Yes, but not necessarily political ones.

Are there people one might perceive to have differing opinions but find agreement in the details? Yes, but that doesn’t mean they could find that on all issues and I don’t think that means it’s unreasonable for some people to have no interest in finding that common ground with some other people.

You can probably find something in common with anyone else, even at least one area of politics. I’m not saying that you’d agree on a “key” issue and you’re not going to find common ground on every topic with every person.

There are topics that get to be a “make or break” in terms of being willing to explore that commonality. Just because the commonality exists somewhere doesn’t mean the two people have to explore it.

I think one key piece of your question that’s not being addressed is the “instead of having people because of their perceived political beliefs?” In this case, yeah I think it’s best to not judge a book by the cover. I’ve met folks who I would have assumed believed certain things because of preconceived ideas about appearance, music interests, etc, only to find out they did not fit any of those stereotypes. You never know unless you have that conversation.

Now if someone is wearing their political beliefs or shouting them, and one of those topics is a “make or break” topic for person 2, then again those two people have every reason to not want to talk and try to find commonalities.

Otherwise, once you know someone’s opinions and their actual political beliefs after trying to find commonalities, and you disagree fundamentally on a “make or break” topic, it's totally fair to not want to try to find common ground.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

When I first read the OP, I thought I might need to reassess my claim that ALL “both sides” arguments are apologia for conservative misdeeds. Now after reading the last few hours of posts, I can see that I was right all along. Many “centrists” are just embarrassed conservatives. They can’t own up to the real-world consequences of their toxic beliefs, so they pretend that liberals are just as bad to salve their egos.

 

[BrendaD]

When I first read the OP, I thought I might need to reassess my claim that ALL “both sides” arguments are apologia for conservative misdeeds. Now after reading the last few hours of posts, I can see that I was right all along. Many “centrists” are just embarrassed conservatives. They can’t own up to the real-world consequences of their toxic beliefs, so they pretend that liberals are just as bad to salve their egos.

Wow. That is an astoundingly sad perspective.

 

[BrendaD]

When I first read the OP, I thought I might need to reassess my claim that ALL “both sides” arguments are apologia for conservative misdeeds. Now after reading the last few hours of posts, I can see that I was right all along. Many “centrists” are just embarrassed conservatives. They can’t own up to the real-world consequences of their toxic beliefs, so they pretend that liberals are just as bad to salve their egos.

Okay, so since I do not identify as on the left, I must be the enemy. I apologize for being the enemy. I am just curious, and not trying to provoke you, feel free to ignore me… I am not as physically healthy as I once was. If someone threatens me, I have no chance for proper defense. But I have a 38 special in my purse… does that make me an evil conservative? Am I supposed to just allow someone to rob me, beat me, or kill me? This is not some theoretical ”never occurs” situation. It happens quite regularly.

I am sad you may not be able to see, we all just want to feel safe. I do not feel safe when I have no way to defend myself. I personally have no faith whatsoever that police will be seconds away from me when bad things happen. If anything, I think police are a half hour or more away. Is my point of view conservative? I don’t know. Seems self preserving to me.

 

[RoryN]

Many “centrists” are just embarrassed conservatives.

Yup. This thread has been made multiple times, and it almost always ends up that way.

We were predicting we'd see this sort of thing in the future back in November 2016 after the election. Easy guess.

Okay, so since I do not identify as on the left, I must be the enemy.

...and there it is.

C / C - effort. In addition to the above "tell", you've selectively ignored many of the hard-to-reconcile facts posted in this thread. Dead giveaway.

You tried. Bless your heart.

(Psst - now you switch to gaslighting/sealioning/straw men/playing the victim some more. And, go!)

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

Okay, so since I do not identify as on the left, I must be the enemy. I apologize for being the enemy. I am just curious, and not trying to provoke you, feel free to ignore me… I am not as physically healthy as I once was. If someone threatens me, I have no chance for proper defense. But I have a 38 special in my purse… does that make me an evil conservative? Am I supposed to just allow someone to rob me, beat me, or kill me? This is not some theoretical ”never occurs” situation. It happens quite regularly.

I am sad you may not be able to see, we all just want to feel safe. I do not feel safe when I have no way to defend myself. I personally have no faith whatsoever that police will be seconds away from me when bad things happen. If anything, I think police are a half hour or more away. Is my point of view conservative? I don’t know. Seems self preserving to me.

Your point of view is conservative. If you want to protect yourself, a can of pepper spray is more effective and safer than a handgun.

As a leftist, I want you to have the right to pee in the ladies room. I also want want ALL women to have complete control over their medical care, whether it’s getting gender-affirming surgery, or making the choice to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

I also agree with you that the police aren’t to be trusted. I think we spend too much money on them without making us any safer. I also don’t like how they harass our black brothers and sisters.

 

[adrina]

Okay. I found the news stories about Kate Cox. And of course, I do not even remotely agree with what happened to her! And I had heard that story, just didn’t recognize the name. Sorry.

And to say Google is not biased, means your head is so far up your ass, you probably stick forks of food in your belly button. And I reiterate, I do not at all identify with the right. If Donnie cared about this country, he would leave politics forever! That fucking ego maniac has fucked up all kinds of shit… in all fairness, so did Obama. We haven’t had a good president for years. Decades, at best. But to deny Biden is senile is as ridiculous as saying Trump is a “good guy”.

Time for me to bail here… this political world is not where I belong.

So in your perspective how does one compromise with an extremist like Ken Paxton?

 

[snailspace]

It's simple

There is good

There is bad

One side is proud of and sides with the bad

The other side doesnt

You will see it in responses to.me, as I posted in a certain style to set the bad off on the expected rants and worse. Watch

 

[Chernosoth]

The nation found common ground four decades ago when it abandoned energy conservation and embraced Reagan's foreign policy of military force and regime change for cheap oil. With cheap energy, we now have cable news, internet, smartphones, and less conversations with neighbors. Town hall meetings, people discussing issues with their communities and councils, may be entirely unknown for most people. We may find common ground again when we literally stand on common ground.