> From: ScottGee1 <scottgee1@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> In the U.S. intelligent discourse is, sadly, drowned out by a coterie
> of people who have realized that outrageous behavior sells. They
> stake out extreme positions and scream at each other.
I find the discourse north of the 49th to be a bit more civil. I
think it has to do with multiculturalism (vs the US "melting pot" of
conformity) and a multi-party system.
When people have the freedom to be something other than "A" or "B",
they aren't nearly as disrespectful. A Liberal and a Socialist may
agree with a Green on global warming, while saving disagreement for
issues like free trade. And all three of them can agree that
Conservatives don't belong in power, and form coalitions to
accomplish this and other goals. If today's opponent might be
tomorrow's ally, you tend to not be so nasty in your disagreements!
The US two-party system seems to be tailor-made to polarize people.
This is really sad, as roughly a third of the people are smug, a
third are pissed off, and another third just are tired of it all and
beyond caring.
I blame this on the influence of money in politics, which is greater
in the US than in probably all other countries. But that's just my
opinion.
:::: The tragedy of modern war is not so much that young men die but
that they die fighting each other... instead of their real enemies
back home in the capitals. -- Edward Abbey
:::: Jan Steinman, http://www.Bytesmiths.com/Events
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