# Can the current state of American political discourse be remedied?



## mrdk_04 (Nov 4, 2018)

Just stumbled across a YT video made by  "Innuendo Studios", an outspoken leftist, and it got me thinking.





Since the 2016 elections (Brexit and Trump), the Western world has seen a massive increase in polarization and aggresive rhetoric across its political spectrum.
American politics have become quite brazen in the past 3 years, what with its winner-takes-all system, only 2 parties with any political power (and thus responsibility) existing and an increase in carelessness from what you could call the "culture war".

My question is: can it remedied? If the answer is yes, how should it be remedied? If the answer is no, where should it go from there?
Bonus question: what caused this degeneration to begin with?


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## Red Hood (Nov 4, 2018)

Three key words:
lol calm down

When people learn to calm down and stop acting like everything is a world-ending threat/personal threat it will get better.


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## byuu (Nov 4, 2018)

Just nuke America.


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## Red Hood (Nov 4, 2018)

BigRuler said:


> the only way i see to end the division is for one side to win decisively and impose near totalitarian control to curb all opposition. once one side is in total control and all opposing voices are silenced, the public sphere can start calming down.
> i honestly see no other way out, the dividing issues are too important and fundamental for either side to let go.
> 
> 
> prolonged leftist control over the media, academia, and education.


I would argue social media's constant need for people to sperg immediately to get that dopamine rush pushes the spergery.


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## Krokodil Overdose (Nov 4, 2018)

The postwar consensus has been decaying for decades, but with technology enabling the rise of nationalism, the cold civil wars that were percolating in the West are beginning to turn hot. In the past, there was no real culture "war" because you need two armies to make a war, and with the left's stranglehold on the institutions, they were the only ones who were allowed to actually play, hence the constant leftward ratchet effect we've seen since the 50s. However, with technology enabling the circumvention of those institutions even as they collapse due to their own unsustainable bloat, suddenly the other side has a voice and the ability to mobilize, so the prog steamroller suddenly doesn't have the clout that it once did. The left's alliance with Silicon Valley monopolists to prop up their hegemony is indicative of their concern for their own power above all else, and may yet succeed in enforcing a manufactured consensus on the population as the mainstream media did before the rise of the internet.

As far as remedies go, I don't think there's a silver bullet that's going to make all the badness go away. The postwar institutions have become so corrupt, overbearing, and parasitic that leaving them will only cause the social ills they're wrapped up in to fester, while reforming or (more likely) removing them will be akin to amputating a limb. Even if we manage to get our feet on the right path, there's going to be a lot of pain getting back to normal.

Big picture, I think that the answer lies in free speech, specifically as a tool to enable the rectification of names. If we can extricate ourselves from the tyranny of the old media/social media naming and shaming anyone who breaks with their line of approved thought, we can start to actually call things what they are in public and actually debate, as opposed to trying to navigate verbal minefields while tackling problems. In practical terms, I think there's a few necessary elements to this: 1) regulate the internet monopolists (Facebook, Twitter, etc) as common carriers: they should hold absolutely no editorial discretion on "curation" rights to things posted on their platform that aren't actually illegal. 2) make political affiliation/philosophy a protected category. 3) Adopt a "loser pays" system for torts nationwide. Most of this ties into my belief that most of the practical solutions are already there, but haven't been realized due to the breakdown in antitrust jurisprudence and free speech protections that we've seen in the last few decades.


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## NeverHappened (Nov 4, 2018)

This is not a problem for poorer and working Americans who care more about the economy. Politics have always been shit for those whose interest are unrepresented. There isn't actually much polarization among the common citizenry. Most people just don't have the energy to go along with the hate, outside of a small fraction of the population. I remember the Bush year where more IRL people went along with the rhetoric, whereas now it's the media that's driving most of it.


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## eldri (Nov 4, 2018)

It should be put into law that, once a month, all politicians are tarred and feathered.
If you want power, you have to suffer for it.

In reality, there's nothing that can be done except for violent revolution. The powers that be have only been strengthened by political polarization and liberals (as well as some conservatives, but in general it's liberals), are too stupid to realize that.


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## Helvetica Scenario (Nov 4, 2018)

Everyone currently involved in political discourse never mind what side they're claiming to be on has to sit down, shut up and let someone else have a go. You guys had your chance, and you blew it.


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## jewelry investor (Nov 4, 2018)

garakfan69 said:


> Just nuke America.


You could pray to yellow stone.


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## bemeas (Nov 4, 2018)

garakfan69 said:


> Just nuke America.


California alone would be enough I think.


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## oldTireWater (Nov 4, 2018)

Helvetica Scenario said:


> Everyone currently involved in political discourse never mind what side they're claiming to be on has to sit down, shut up and let someone else have a go. You guys had your chance, and you blew it.



Is that you Michael Moore?


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## darkshadowfox (Nov 4, 2018)

remove the Car restrictions that mercedes imposed in the 1980s, block tor exit nodes to pedophillia sites from US based IPs, more accountability on political corruption, drug war. 

turning the ghettos into nice neighborhoods. 

giving more jobs to the poor and pulling money from the upper rich. 

nuking america.


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## Hellbound Hellhound (Nov 4, 2018)

BigRuler said:


> prolonged leftist control over the media, academia, and education.



This is a myopic view that ignores the popularity of Fox News, televangelism, and conservative talk radio.

The reality is that both sides have played a decisive role in trivializing, sensationalizing, and polarizing political discourse in America, and the fault ultimately lies in an overarching culture of anti-intellectualism, coupled with the generally dismal standard of American political broadcasting.


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## Draza (Nov 4, 2018)

A good ole' civil war.


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## Judge Holden (Nov 4, 2018)

InnuendoStudios is a full on lolcow in his own right. Nigga has been pushing the "EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME OR MAKES FUN OF ME OR USES MEEEMEEES IS AN EBIL NAZI RAPEMACHINE TERRORIST!" schtick harder than the likes of movieblob since the early days of gamergate and so his latest whinefest is of little import since its another example of "meanie trolls say meanie things. this means everybody i dont like is guilty and sekritly agrees with everything meanie trolls say"

If people want to stop the collapse of political discourse, the easiest fucking thing to do would be to stop declaring one's opponents to be inhuman nazi rapist monsters that need to be corcively if not violently silenced.

Anne-frankly right now there is only one side in this shit that is doing this, and we all know which side that is. 

Worst shit the right is saying these days is "cuck" or "globalist" or "shill" or other varieties of "pathetic and dishonest idiot". If this were the dumbest nadir of the Bush/satanic panic era and the right was declaring all opponants/dissenters to be islamist supporting babykillers or satanic child rapists or the like, then there _would _be parity but the fact of the matter is that this shit just isnt happening. 

The left has systematically pissed away any claim to be the moral/intellectual side of truth and fairness, and against them the right wingers of the world merely have to not be as utterly repulsive as them to the voter base which is why they are fucking winning. Trump didnt win because everybody in murica loved his policies or shit, he was able to get his base and a nice chunk of the centre out there into the polling booths, while the dems managed to convince most of their base and the left leaning centre to just stay the fuck at home instead of partake in their political shitwagon. And THAT was back in 2016 when their schtick was infinitely less demagoguery and hysteria laden than it is today.


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## Krokodil Overdose (Nov 4, 2018)

Hellbound Hellhound said:


> This is a myopic view that ignores the popularity of Fox News, televangelism, and conservative talk radio.
> 
> The reality is that both sides have played a decisive role in trivializing, sensationalizing, and polarizing political discourse in America, and the fault ultimately lies in an overarching culture of anti-intellectualism, coupled with the generally dismal standard of American political broadcasting.



Fox News, talk radio, and televangelism are both recent phenomena and drops in the bucket compared to the far-left stranglehold on the mainstream media, academia, and the bureaucracy.

The Big 3 networks were manufacturing left-wing consensus since Roosevelt gave them a functional monopoly over Americans' information. Comparing the effect of that to Rupert Murdoch's breakout (my favorite comment about Fox News: "Rupert Murdoch found a niche that contained half the country") fails simply due to the difference in scale.


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## Red Hood (Nov 4, 2018)

Hellbound Hellhound said:


> This is a myopic view that ignores the popularity of Fox News, televangelism, and conservative talk radio.
> 
> The reality is that both sides have played a decisive role in trivializing, sensationalizing, and polarizing political discourse in America, and the fault ultimately lies in an overarching culture of anti-intellectualism, coupled with the generally dismal standard of American political broadcasting.


While I agree on the fact that neither side is blameless, it's hard to read the anti-intellectualism thing with a straight face. The so-called intellectuals we're largely asked to accept within academia are postmodernists, social scientists, and others that want to use their degrees as an excuse for demagoguery that makes them no different from a religious figure claiming God/Allah/Captain Howdy has ordained them and therefore they are correct. "You have to believe me! I'M AN EXPERT!" has been abused too much to accept at face value.

Everything should be taken with a grain of salt and no one from a homeless man on the street to mutiple PhD people should be considered as speaking in anyone's best interest other than their own until fact checked and proven otherwise.


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## Krokodil Overdose (Nov 4, 2018)

The Shadow said:


> Everything should be taken with a grain of salt and no one from a homeless man on the street to mutiple PhD people should be considered as speaking in anyone's best interest other than their own until fact checked and proven otherwise.



Gonna back this up with a bit that I capped from a blogger years ago:


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## Trasha Pay That A$$ (Nov 4, 2018)

If you vote Democrat, you get deported. Same for anyone who is a legit member of the KKK.


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## break these cuffs (Nov 4, 2018)

dotr is the only way forward


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Nov 4, 2018)

It's all bullshit and doesn't really matter.

The pendulum will keep on swinging like it has been for centuries.


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## The Manglement (Nov 4, 2018)

The system doesn't want peaceful political discourse. If ordinary people on both sides of the political spectrum were to peacefully communicate, they would realize they were really the same deep down, and the edifice of political hate that the very rich have developed would collapse. The 1% only survive because the 99% is warring among itself.


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## Tranhuviya (Nov 4, 2018)

There is no remedy. America is doomed. Any attempt to delay or reverse it is futility on your part. Have a nice day.


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## Scratch This Nut (Nov 4, 2018)

Am I allowed to say something negative about Trump here?  Like this place sucks almost as much as A&H.


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## DNJACK (Nov 4, 2018)

the best way to prevent national radicalisation about identity politics or other non-political issues is a diversion.

Something like Vermont trying to become a country or something.
Oil getting 4x more expensive.
A war getting fought on us soil.
Libertarians/Greens getting a senate majority.

Nothing you personally can do about it though.


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Nov 4, 2018)

DNJACK said:


> the best way to prevent national radicalisation about identity politics or other non-political issues is a diversion.
> 
> Something like Vermont trying to become a country or something.
> Oil getting 4x more expensive.
> ...


Or like in "The Watchmen" where you fake a war with a god-like creature.

There has to be something that everybody can come together on.


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## DNJACK (Nov 4, 2018)

its a little easier then that. they have to be for or against it in a way that cannot be easily divided into republicans/democrats.


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## Red Hood (Nov 4, 2018)

DNJACK said:


> the best way to prevent national radicalisation about identity politics or other non-political issues is a diversion.
> 
> Something like Vermont trying to become a country or something.
> Oil getting 4x more expensive.
> ...


Vermont is a bad example though, no one would fucking miss Vermont.


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## BlueSpark (Nov 4, 2018)

Things are just going to keep escalating until widespread political violence becomes the norm. 
When leftists get a grip on a society it's the only direction that things can go in.


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## BoingBoingBoi (Nov 4, 2018)

what's needed more than anything is a topic change. social issues like lgbtq and #MeToo nonsense need to take a back seat to actual issues like the tax code, how to deal with china, immigration reform, the opioid pandemic. the problem is that the media keeps feeding people the idea that these social issues are the most important things plaguing the country right now by giving those things mare airtime than they're due, and so people get burnt out on who the wokest fucking tranny on tv is before they even get the chance to think about the trade war with china. 



Krokodil Overdose said:


> the rectification of names



you mean 正名? pretty sure that's a task reserved for the elites in context.


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## Krokodil Overdose (Nov 4, 2018)

BoingBoingBoi said:


> you mean 正名? pretty sure that's a task reserved for the elites in context.



Technically yes, but I'm trying to use it in a broader sense. The idea I'm trying to convey is that the notation and reality should correspond as closely as possible (I've seen this called "formalism" in some cases but that seems to be a minority use of the term.) One of the reasons that our discourse is in such a sorry state these days is because the language itself been twisted by moralizing busybodies for the sake of what they think ought to be, rather than what is.

Don't know if there's a succinct word or phrase that adequately captures this, though.


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## Floating in Ether (Nov 4, 2018)

Trasha Pay That A$$ said:


> If you vote Democrat, you get deported. Same for anyone who is a legit member of the KKK.


But I really enjoy the outfit. Got a thing for pointy head coverings.


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## Trasha Pay That A$$ (Nov 4, 2018)

Floating in Ether said:


> But I really enjoy the outfit. Got a thing for pointy head coverings.



Maybe switch over to Pope cosplay?


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## Floating in Ether (Nov 4, 2018)

Trasha Pay That A$$ said:


> Maybe switch over to Pope cosplay?


I'd get in trouble over cross burning, most likely, and I would never have a valid excuse for my noose collection.


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## Snuckening (Nov 4, 2018)

The internet was always going to shake politics up, which is what we're seeing with the polarization and catastrophizing right now, IMO. But eventually it'll find it's level.

Give it a decade or so, til everyone screeching about "OMG, Drumpf/the SJWs will end western society!!" realise that they're being completely rctarded and that things really aren't that bad, and they'll stop crying and move on with their lives. Probably.

Or not and we'll all die. Hard to tell tbh.


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## dopy (Nov 4, 2018)

man reading these hot takes from the video makes me want to bash the fash even harder







or if things go tits up i might move to the far east and become an english teacher and have several undocumented children with several thirsty anime (i.e. 10/10 hottthicc asian) babes.


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## Krokodil Overdose (Nov 4, 2018)

LOL @ that first comment. Not sure which version is funnier, that she's a tankie leftover from the Reagan administration, or that she's an SJW who's so dumb she thinks that the left-wing discourse abandoned class talk by accident.


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## Tasty Tatty (Nov 5, 2018)

mrdk_04 said:


> Since the 2016 elections (Brexit and Trump), the Western world has seen a massive increase in polarization and aggresive rhetoric across its political spectrum.



Mmm... yes and not.

What has really happened isn't that the world suddenly became polarized: what actually happened was that the world turned right and the left cannot stand it because the modern left is mostly young spoiled people who are product of helicopter parenting and who cannot tolerate being told "no" and old nostalgic commie farts who still dream with La Revolución. 

Now, the reason the right is gaining power is not due to everybody turning a nazi. IMO, it's mostly due to two main factors:

1. It's a reaction to the ridiculous statements made by the left. Most people just want jobs and raise their families well. They are never going to vote for some pink haired tumblerina who exposes her naked body in front of their kids. And 

2. The improvement of the society makes the state less needed and people naturally reject the core ideas of Leftism. 

The reason why you see so much violence in the political discourse is because, as mentioned above, mos of the people who are part of the so-called left cannot tolerate their party isn't as needed as it was and the members have been taught that violence is ok. Wanna stop this? remove radicals from universities because they're the ones radicalizating the youth.


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## OB 946 (Nov 5, 2018)

Helicopters


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## BoingBoingBoi (Nov 5, 2018)

Tasty Tatty said:


> Mmm... yes and not.
> 
> What has really happened isn't that the world suddenly became polarized: what actually happened was that the world turned right and the left cannot stand it because the modern left is mostly young spoiled people who are product of helicopter parenting and who cannot tolerate being told "no" and old nostalgic commie farts who still dream with La Revolución.
> 
> ...



i agree that the shift towards polarization is overblown. however, i disagree with your reasoning for the transition of power rightward. my own explanation is simpler: it's the right's turn. after 8 years of obama, people wanted a change. it's pretty rare for a two term president to hand off the presidency to a member of the same party, and i doubt that trump would have won if he was following up a fellow republican. 

on your first point, keep in mind that most of the voting population is either ignorant of or doesnt care about screeching leftists at college campuses or on the internet. most people vote on economic interests. they vote democrat because dems will give them goodies. they vote republican because repubs will lower taxes. i just dont think it's plausible to think that most people aren't voting democrat to stick it to the tumblristas. 

i think there's a grain of truth in your second point, but again i'd tweak it a bit to reflect the fact that the hardcore sjw leftists aren't actually mainstream democrats. (recall kieth fucking ellison, progressive leader of the party, being passed over for dnc chair). dems have highest approval ratings when they're tasked with "fixing" the economy. when the economy, i.e., the free market, is humming along, they're unnecessary. since they've been so utterly fucking inept regarding the economy as of late ("free healthcare and college for all!" lolkay) and don't actually have a foreign policy platform, the only thing they have left is to screech about these social/lgbtq issues that bad orange man opposes. 

if we ignore the screeching on the far left and right sides, which we should, then i'd say that all that needs to be done to ensure a shift of power leftward is 1) trump gets the US into another endless war, or 2) trump utterly fucking tanks the economy. all the other nonsense political screeching on both sides generates more clicks and dollars than it does actual votes.


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## ES 148 (Nov 5, 2018)

People are latching onto Nazism and Communism because they are out of touch with both history and morality beyond their tiny little bubble of self-interest.


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Nov 5, 2018)

Tranhuviya said:


> There is no remedy. America is doomed. Any attempt to delay or reverse it is futility on your part. Have a nice day.


Your message reminds me of the final screen on Raiden's MK1 ending:


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## Corbin Dallas Multipass (Nov 5, 2018)

What the hell? The title of this thread is triggering me!

How can the current state of american political discourse be remedied? That is indeed a question. The question assumes the current state is in need of remedy, and asks how to go about doing so. Fair enough.

Then... "If so, how?"

So... what? You already asked how!  If so makes no sense here.

Some better titles keeping the same style would be:
Does the current state of discourse need to be remedied? If so, how?
Can the current state of discourse be remedied? If so, how?

Or, the simplest of all:
How can the current state of american political discourse be remedied?


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## mrdk_04 (Nov 5, 2018)

Corbin Dallas Multipass said:


> What the hell? The title of this thread is triggering me!
> 
> How can the current state of american political discourse be remedied? That is indeed a question. The question assumes the current state is in need of remedy, and asks how to go about doing so. Fair enough.
> 
> ...



Fixed, thanks for noticing.


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## Corbin Dallas Multipass (Nov 5, 2018)

mrdk_04 said:


> Will fix it ASAP, thanks for noticing.


Aww now I feel bad. English isn't your first language, is it?  Sorry I thought I was picking on a native speaker.  Kudos to you for your completely understandable English.


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## Hellbound Hellhound (Nov 5, 2018)

Krokodil Overdose said:


> Fox News, talk radio, and televangelism are both recent phenomena and drops in the bucket compared to the far-left stranglehold on the mainstream media, academia, and the bureaucracy.



The left have a disproportionate influence within certain spheres of the media and academia, but I don't think it is very convincing to suggest this has profoundly shaped the political opinions of most Americans. The left has dominated academia for decades now, yet the American public statistically remain predominantly conservative outside of the big cities, and this is true regardless of party affiliation.

As for the mainstream media, the two most viewed news shows in the United States are Hannity and Tucker Carlson Tonight. That's hardly a drop in the bucket, it's an accurate reflection of the audience they're playing to.

A lot of people have this tendency to put the cart before the horse when it comes to media influence. It isn't primarily the media which shapes the political opinions of the average person, rather, it is the opinions of the average person that shapes the media they consume via market forces.



The Shadow said:


> Everything should be taken with a grain of salt and no one from a homeless man on the street to mutiple PhD people should be considered as speaking in anyone's best interest other than their own until fact checked and proven otherwise.



I would agree that nothing should be taken at face value, but I think you are overestimating the effectiveness of fact-checking in the hands of most laypeople. In order to know if an expert is truly wrong about something, you have to first be knowledgeable enough to meet them at their level, otherwise, how are you supposed to go about fact-checking their claims? If I gave you the PhD thesis of a post-graduate researcher for a highly technical subject you had absolutely no expertise in, would you feel confident to fact-check it?

I understand the desire to democratize information and afford no privilege in discussions to people based upon their level of education, but if we're being realistic here, I think we both know that this attitude has it's limits in practice. When you're a layperson with no background in something, it makes logical sense to afford more deference to an expert in the field than you would to some random person on the street, and the only kind of person who would suggest otherwise is someone who doesn't see any value in education or expertise to begin with.



BigRuler said:


> one news network on the right vs. a dozen on the left?
> a bunch of rush limbaugh tier radio clowns on the right vs. the entirety of the holllywood movie machine on the left?
> some campy tv meme preachers on the right vs. almost all public schools and the entirety of academia on the left?
> 
> they do exist and they do play a part in polarizing people, but to compare their little bit of influence to the monstrous institutional power that the left controls is laughable.



Control and power are two different things. Who 'controls' Hollywood and academia is largely irrelevant if they wield little to no power when it comes to influencing the opinions of ordinary people, and I think there is ample evidence to suggest that they don't really influence them.


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## Al Gulud (Nov 5, 2018)

Lmao I don't think the discourse will ever stop which could honestly be seen as a good thing tbh. A healthy amount of opposition to other ideas is always a good thing and besides that I doubt anyone who is actively engaging in this shit online will do anything irl.


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## Crunchy Leaf (Nov 5, 2018)

even if you only look at economic issues, the answer is no

one side wants medicare for all, other side thinks that people should pay their own way and nobody's tax dollars should be going to help someone else...how do you come to a middle ground?
one side wants unions...the other side wants right to work...how do you come to a middle ground?
one side thinks supply side economics is bad...the other side thinks supply side economics is good...how do you come to a middle ground?
they're on the complete opposite sides and nobody is going to want to compromise.


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## DNJACK (Nov 5, 2018)

Crunchy Leaf said:


> even if you only look at economic issues, the answer is no
> 
> one side wants medicare for all, other side thinks that people should pay their own way and nobody's tax dollars should be going to help someone else...how do you come to a middle ground?
> one side wants unions...the other side wants right to work...how do you come to a middle ground?
> ...



if experience is any help:
-medicare for all but everyone has to pay for their own insurance
-people get unions that only protect what no one wants to do.
-implement supply economics but make sure supply is heavily crippled by retaliatory international tariffs instead

the compromise is always to implement something that is worse than any side would come by on their own.
Politicians love to do something, even if it's mostly making things worse.


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## Commander Keen (Nov 6, 2018)

All this alarmism, lulz. People think discourse in the states is bad? Really? It’s quite tame compared to ye olden tymes. We used to gun each other down and no one really batted an eye.

Wasn’t too long ago federal troops fired on protestors. Political discourse in the new world isn’t “bad”, it’s just the current participants are people who cannot handle an opposing opinion or the notion that they can “lose”. If they “lose” then the opponent cheated. How could they lose? They never lose! Never!

So whenever battle lines are drawn and people grab their guns I’ll agree that the political discourse in America has reached the point where it’s “bad”. All this crap is just weak banter and mudslinging. Angry people hammering at keyboards trying to get the hint of a boner when they pwn some liberal or alt-right kid.

And there is no compromise. Anyone who tells you they are going to work with the opposition is not on your team in the first place.


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## Joan Nyan (Nov 6, 2018)

What's wrong with it? It's good that the parties are becoming more distinct. Alexandrea Googly-Eyes Cortez and Donald Drumpft better represent the diversity of viewpoints in the US compared to say, Hillary Clinton and Jeb! Bush who were basically the same person. Voters finally have a voice, not an echo. And it's fun too. Like that Shen comic where he gets his bike stolen, owning libs/cons is more fun than the negativity felt by the owned lib/con who doesn't actually care, so, whatever.


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## mrdk_04 (Nov 6, 2018)

Jon-Kacho said:


> What's wrong with it? It's good that the parties are becoming more distinct. Alexandrea Googly-Eyes Cortez and Donald Drumpft better represent the diversity of viewpoints in the US compared to say, Hillary Clinton and Jeb! Bush who were basically the same person. Voters finally have a voice, not an echo. And it's fun too. Like that Shen comic where he gets his bike stolen, owning libs/cons is more fun than the negativity felt by the owned lib/con who doesn't actually care, so, whatever.



I'm either deluded, dumb or both.
The current polarization, shitflinging, ever increasing agitating of eachother, the riots, echoes of the black bloc, white nationalist demonstrations, Trump Derangement Syndrome, the pathetic attempts of the Democrats to cover up their failure, the drop in quality of media outlets, social media's destructive influence, distrust of experts, the rise of near vitriolic movements like #metoo, the inability of Democrats to set clear limits to their doctrine, etc.

There is no problem with the 2 parties becoming more distinct, what IS a problem is that they will screw eachother over at every turn if they get the chance. The Republicans have been known to do this with Obama and now, Democrats wholeheartedly supported that sham of a court case against Kavanaugh<;
For a country that has to switch parties every 2 years, I fear we might soon have a "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" situation on our hands.

As for owning libs and cons, it's one thing when we laugh at it, it's another when there are entire compilations of destroying the other's arguments and current media relishes the chance at taking down, calling out, or downright destroying the reputation of at times innocent people.

There is a time and place for hate and owning snowflakes, but it has been going for well over 3 years now, with no end in sight. That isn't healthy.


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## Joan Nyan (Nov 6, 2018)

mrdk_04 said:


> I'm either deluded, dumb or both.
> The current polarization, shitflinging, ever increasing agitating of eachother, the riots, echoes of the black bloc, white nationalist demonstrations, Trump Derangement Syndrome, the pathetic attempts of the Democrats to cover up their failure, the drop in quality of media outlets, social media's destructive influence, distrust of experts, the rise of near vitriolic movements like #metoo, the inability of Democrats to set clear limits to their doctrine, etc.
> 
> There is no problem with the 2 parties becoming more distinct, what IS a problem is that they will screw eachother over at every turn if they get the chance. The Republicans have been known to do this with Obama and now, Democrats wholeheartedly supported that sham of a court case against Kavanaugh<;
> For a country that has to switch parties every 2 years, I fear we might soon have a "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" situation on our hands.


Why shouldn't you screw the other party over? They're wrong and it's fun.


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## mrdk_04 (Nov 6, 2018)

Jon-Kacho said:


> Why shouldn't you screw the other party over? They're wrong and it's fun.



Because, ideally, they would have to work together on some level, or at least agree to disagree from time to time.
It bothers me immensely how spiteful both sides have become in the current year +3.
I'll assume you're just shitposting.


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## Commander Keen (Nov 6, 2018)

mrdk_04 said:


> Because, ideally, they would have to work together on somelevel, or at least agree to disagree from time to time.
> It bothers me immensely how spiteful both sides have become in the current year +3.
> I'll assume you're just shitposting.



No. We do not live in a proportional representation system of government where coalitions are formed to make up the ruling government. We live in a first past the post style of government. If you have more seats, you have all the power. That’s how it works. 

The only reason to compromise is when there are rogue agents who aren’t in lock step due to pressures from their electorate and the voters have said they’ll vote said rogue agent out of office if they do this or that. 

There is no reason to compromise or work together with the opposition. None.


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## Hellbound Hellhound (Nov 6, 2018)

BigRuler said:


> they do influence them though
> why do you think that, for example, the major US tech companies are filled to the brim with hardcore leftists?



Because they appeal to the left and they recruit from the left. This doesn't invalidate anything I have said. The fact remains that mainstream America continues to be very far removed from academia and Silicon Valley.


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## DNJACK (Nov 6, 2018)

Hellbound Hellhound said:


> Because they appeal to the left and they recruit from the left. This doesn't invalidate anything I have said. The fact remains that mainstream America continues to be very far removed from academia and Silicon Valley.


especially the blacks and hispanics.


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## queerape (Nov 6, 2018)

Yes, of course it can. The current state of affairs has been a long time coming. My then-boyfriend, God bless his soul, said in 2008 that he could see polarization going so far by 2016 that we'd have Nazis vs hyper pc. But I would add it's a long time going too. Nothing lasts forever in politics. It's the very nature of things to change.

As to how will it change, that's less clear. But I can imagine that it'd involve people becoming more war of what they read on the internet, after being burned repeatedly by fake news. Better education may also play a role. But the single most important factor I see is the millenial/ gen Z coming of age. Once you hit about age 25, executive function matures, and by then you have at least some degree of nuance and life experience. Political views will follow. They will realise edgy alt right/ tumblr SJW views are untenable in the real world, and their politics will mature with it. As such, they will stop following and supporting that content, instead boosting more nuanced thinkers. Since they influence a lot of social media, this will have ramifications throughout, especially as they step into positions of power.


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