Whimsicalchristian posted,
'It just gets a little old if you're the only person arguing a thing on a thread for weeks and it feels like my evidence is ignored or sidelined so why bother refuting back when I feel like I've said it all before.'
I feel for you, but - and this is crucial - you haven't been arguing at all. You simply state your views and then, as has been pointed out, resort to 'Bulverism' finding causes, not reasons for others' appraisals of the situation (s).
Nothing any poster has said to you appears to have made you, as Luther once said, 'consider in the bowels of Christ, that you may be wrong'.
Is there any action of Mr Trump and his administration that would make you change your mind about him? The use of nuclear weapons? Cutting health care provision and research?
Oh, hold on, he's done that.
Honestly, this is a discussion board of mostly-left-wing folks. We've had long discussions from time to time about how it's not easy being a conservative in these parts. It has been an ongoing thing for over a decade, at least. You're not the first right-winger to darken our doors. Some folks have hung around for years. Some people show up, throw tantrums, and promptly leave. "Flouncing" is the slang word for that behavior. It's undignified.
I grew up a mild mannered liberal in a mostly-conservative small town. I've had the "but everybody thinks I'm wrong and stupid and I keep losing arguments!" experience in the inverse, and I have some empathy.
But if you want to make arguments that persuade, you have to listen and read the people you're dealing with and deal with them as people instead of saying what feels comfortable to you. Believe me, I've heard right wing talking points my entire life and I don't find them compelling. You're not selling me stuff I haven't already seen before. I understand Henry Kissinger had a certain debased logic to his foreign policy. That doesn't make it right.
Kindly don't assume liberals are stupid, naive, or largely driven be an unnatural animus against President Donald Trump. I have personal, social, very carefully thought-out reasons reinforcing my contempt for that individual and his public policies. I may assure you that they are deeply sincere.
Or maybe take a break. Arguing politics is hard. Find something else to bicker about, like religion!
I type these words in a spirit of kindness, I hope.
@WhimsicalChristian Thank you for your considered response to my replies. It's no doubt been quite frustrating to repeat a position over and over again, without feeling like you have been heard.
It's not that we haven't heard you, it's that we've heard the same positions and talking points from many many sources and we are not convinced that they represent the entire scope of the issues at hand, or that they represent a reasonable or constructive attitude towards them.
On the point of airing unpopular opinions on this board, I confess I hold quite a number of them, but do not think it serves my peace of mind or the peace and goodwill of the fellowship to air them.
In the end, what I think on a topic is of no importance whatsoever, and is probably none of anyone's business anyway. Nothing in the world will change just because I tried to convince someone of the soundness of my point of view. It's just not a good use of my time and preciously frail emotional equilibrium.
I wish you a pleasant day and weekend and I hope you continue to hang out with us. We are all One in the Body of Christ after all.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Estonia’s defense minister on Monday with some bad news: Because of its own needs in the war with Iran, the Pentagon would have to delay delivery of six units of a high-tech weapons system that Estonia had contracted to buy from the United States government.
@WhimsicalChristian I think it's interesting (meant sincerely) that you view being anti-Trump as being anti-Western, or that they are at least aligned viewpoints. Surely Trump himself is anti-Western? To me being pro-Western would mean being aligned with Europe and Canada and opposed to Russian interests, which Trump is very clearly and blatantly not. How is supporting Russia and opposing Ukraine a pro-Western stance? Trump doesn't care about quote unquote "Western values", he cares first and foremost about lining his pockets.
I can appreciate why China would feel like a threat from an Australian perspective. Nobody here is denying China's human rights violations for eg. But it's not like the Trump administration has much room to talk on that issue.
“Whimsical” according to the online dictionary means “playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing or amusing way”.
So I hope you stick around and get something positive out of your membership. There’s certainly a good deal of the playful, quaint and fanciful stuff in Heaven and The Circus. I’ve a lot of amusement there. Purgatory is much more about serious exchanges of ideas and opinions.
Which is why one of its Guidelines is “Expect to be disagreed with”. Folks will agree with you if they do! But it’s not a comfortable environment. Quite Purgatorial in fact. But not Hell.
Comments
'It just gets a little old if you're the only person arguing a thing on a thread for weeks and it feels like my evidence is ignored or sidelined so why bother refuting back when I feel like I've said it all before.'
I feel for you, but - and this is crucial - you haven't been arguing at all. You simply state your views and then, as has been pointed out, resort to 'Bulverism' finding causes, not reasons for others' appraisals of the situation (s).
Nothing any poster has said to you appears to have made you, as Luther once said, 'consider in the bowels of Christ, that you may be wrong'.
Is there any action of Mr Trump and his administration that would make you change your mind about him? The use of nuclear weapons? Cutting health care provision and research?
Oh, hold on, he's done that.
Honestly, this is a discussion board of mostly-left-wing folks. We've had long discussions from time to time about how it's not easy being a conservative in these parts. It has been an ongoing thing for over a decade, at least. You're not the first right-winger to darken our doors. Some folks have hung around for years. Some people show up, throw tantrums, and promptly leave. "Flouncing" is the slang word for that behavior. It's undignified.
I grew up a mild mannered liberal in a mostly-conservative small town. I've had the "but everybody thinks I'm wrong and stupid and I keep losing arguments!" experience in the inverse, and I have some empathy.
But if you want to make arguments that persuade, you have to listen and read the people you're dealing with and deal with them as people instead of saying what feels comfortable to you. Believe me, I've heard right wing talking points my entire life and I don't find them compelling. You're not selling me stuff I haven't already seen before. I understand Henry Kissinger had a certain debased logic to his foreign policy. That doesn't make it right.
Kindly don't assume liberals are stupid, naive, or largely driven be an unnatural animus against President Donald Trump. I have personal, social, very carefully thought-out reasons reinforcing my contempt for that individual and his public policies. I may assure you that they are deeply sincere.
Or maybe take a break. Arguing politics is hard. Find something else to bicker about, like religion!
I type these words in a spirit of kindness, I hope.
Absolutely. Plenty of threads for that. Can’t guarantee that they don’t mention Trump, but mostly they don’t.
He just doesn't strike me as very pious.
It's not that we haven't heard you, it's that we've heard the same positions and talking points from many many sources and we are not convinced that they represent the entire scope of the issues at hand, or that they represent a reasonable or constructive attitude towards them.
On the point of airing unpopular opinions on this board, I confess I hold quite a number of them, but do not think it serves my peace of mind or the peace and goodwill of the fellowship to air them.
In the end, what I think on a topic is of no importance whatsoever, and is probably none of anyone's business anyway. Nothing in the world will change just because I tried to convince someone of the soundness of my point of view. It's just not a good use of my time and preciously frail emotional equilibrium.
I wish you a pleasant day and weekend and I hope you continue to hang out with us. We are all One in the Body of Christ after all.
AFF
I can appreciate why China would feel like a threat from an Australian perspective. Nobody here is denying China's human rights violations for eg. But it's not like the Trump administration has much room to talk on that issue.
It’s a nice ID.
“Whimsical” according to the online dictionary means “playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing or amusing way”.
So I hope you stick around and get something positive out of your membership. There’s certainly a good deal of the playful, quaint and fanciful stuff in Heaven and The Circus. I’ve a lot of amusement there. Purgatory is much more about serious exchanges of ideas and opinions.
Which is why one of its Guidelines is “Expect to be disagreed with”. Folks will agree with you if they do! But it’s not a comfortable environment. Quite Purgatorial in fact. But not Hell.