The NO POLITICS "rule" is stupid if you ask me. Why the hell are you people so opposed to the occasional political thread here? We live in a world in turmoil, politics is part of what is happening these days. Yes, you do not have to participate in political discussions, that is your choice. But, I will post whatever I want here. Don't like it, then don't read the thread.<br><br><br><br>

well, people in this community can post whatever they want (within the rules). if people respond, the thread will take off. if not, you'll have to bump it yourself to keep it afloat. i have theories on people who don't want to participate in political threads:<br>(1) not smart enough to comprehend the subject<br>(2) doesn't understand the importance of the political decisions in their own daily lives<br>(3) our political threads tend to be USA-centric...many people live elsewhere<br>(4) wishy-washy as to where they stand on issues (e.g., an independent)<br>(5) spends too much time talking politix in the real world and wants something else online<br>(6) realizes that people rarely change their minda...so what's the point?<br>(7) hates to read comments from people on the extremes (e.g., i hate bush...i hate daschle) and feels causes threads to quickly degrade<br><br>of course, there could be other reasons and i am not claiming that #1 above is any more likely than #6...i just randomly threw them up there. i am guessing most people here fall into #6, #7, and #3 with a few #4's. <br><br>[color:blue] -sean</font color=blue>

#7 is what tuned me out.<br><br>

# 7 is the winner with me<br><br>

Actually, I don't mind a good political debate.... however, MC is just burried in them and it seems everyone takes them so personal and it just ends up degrading into a shouting/name-calling match.<br><br>I know that we (the MC folks) came over here for different reasons, but I have "STAYED" over here because thus far I don't believe we have had one single name-calling, ugly, overly-opinionated or outright rude post yet. I like that.<br><br>I come here to get away from the "real-world" for a while each day. As the events of the last week in my life reminded me, I have better things to do than argue with people. It shouldn't come down to that every time, but lets face it; if you look over at MC at virtually every politics related thread, someone is ALWAYS being rude. <br><br>Politics are a personal preference, and as such usually carries strong feelings with it. I think just about everyone gets a little worked-up about it when talking with others who don't have similar ideas or beliefs. I think this is also why you probably don't see threads discussing religion or abortion here... <br><br>I for one welcome any post made here, I just think I speak for many people here when I say, "we like to keep it on the lighter side of life."<br><br>

Yep, #7 is the one, maybe a little of #6 too. People who are really interested in politics tend to have viewpoints on the extreme left or extreme right. Too often they refuse to acknowledge that the solutions take time (i.e. more than one term), and that the solutions often lie somewhere in between the extremes. Your point #4 is a good example of that. ;)<br><br>I disagree with points 1 and 2 - I think the people here deserve more credit.<br><br>Also, people tend to say things like "well, they tried it in this place and it didn't work so the whole idea sucks." Instead of scrapping the idea, why not take some of the good parts and tweak 'em?<br><br><br>

Giz..I agree with you, this place is an excape from the real world. I look forward to my visits, some bring laughter, some bring tears. Everyone wants to treat politics as a black and white subject, but I feel it is totally gray. I'am sorry I did not note who made the comment about participation. If you jump in that's OK, if you want to lurk, that's cool also, or pick another thread and move on. I have enought stress in my life to get into a political name calling in this place. I've been in the Army for mosty of my adult life. Based upon my experiences I have a strong view on the current world issues, but they are my views and I keep them to myself. I feel if you are going to be a trash talking maggot, crawl off to a slime hole where you feel you can grow in that filth. If you want to stay at MM, exercise control, responsibility and respect!<br><br>Too Easy!<br><br>

well, i give people here a lot of credit, which is why i said that most people will be #6 and #7 (and #3). give me some credit . we do have teenagers who frequent the forums. not many teenagers *really* understand politics (#2) -- many schools teach gov't in the senior year, plus there's all that adolescent stuff to get past first. as for #1, i am not placing a lot of weight on this one, but i don't think it is out of the realm of possibility for a few people (and i have nobody in particular in mind).<br><br>[color:blue] -sean</font color=blue>

Pretty much 5, 6, and 7 on my end...I get enough of that on the 'other' forum. If you want so badly to take part in a heavy-handed discussion about our foreign policy, my advice would be to go over there and do it...<br><br>And I don't know if being able to participate in those types of discussions has anything to do with being 'smart', as you put it Sean...<br><br>I would say I'm a pretty intelligent guy when it comes to a lot of matters in life, but maybe I don't know about every single injustice or flaw in our government- so does that make me an idiot? I try to hold my own in matters that I know about, and will pretty much avoid those threads populated by people who are so staunch in their beliefs that it's not even worth arguing about. <br><br>Of course, I AM guilty of getting tangled up with quite a few of the 'extremists', I must admit... But that's only because I love a good scrap sometimes- as long as they can stay civil and relatively objective...<br><br>[color:red]Hold on...it's time for a</font color=red><br>

This is my sense of politicaql threads, here or anywhere else on line. Often they begin intelligently enough. However, pretty soon all that one can do is repeat the same point over and over again. The result is not particularly satisfying, so everyone gets irate, and because the whole thing is taking place long-distance, and the interlocutor is not actually in front of you, the discussion begins to descend into adhomination. Pretty soon that declines as well, and then we get to the "says who" or "so's your mother" stage of the discussion.<br><br>In short, nothing is resolved, nothing really gets discusses seriously, and all that issues is hot air.<br><br>None of this is to say that politics is not important. Obviously it is. But Tip O'Neill said it most succinctly: All politics is local. The problem with the web as a mode of communicating political ideas is that the web is never local.<br><br>Great wits are sure to madness near allied.--John Dryden, "Absalom and Achitophel"<br>