London has effectively become a city-state, far removed from the concerns of people who live elsewhere I feel the same is true here. A friend and I were just discussing this, in fact. Newspapers tend to cover what's happening in big cities - L.A., New York City, Washington D.C. - as if the opinions expressed there and the desires and beliefs of the residents there are somehow nationwide.
That’s interesting. In terms of power I thought we were pretty top heavy in this country and that power was more devolved in the States (aided by the presence of more major cities?) and then with this devolution in power would come a kind of devolution or filtering of attitudes? Maybe it doesn’t work like that. Also, I’ve heard Americans themselves saying America is really a combination of several different countries and I thought that might have helped promote a multiplicity of opinions etc.
the news business in the U.S. sometimes gets lazy - the big city papers don't get out of the big city often enough because they think if they know what the urbanites think and want, they know all that matters.
That’s definitely happened here and is manifested in things like one form of media copying what other forms have said but not actually getting out there to verify things. Or one day something will appear on the web and then a couple of days later it appears on TV with TV claiming it’s news.
If you're asking me to meet on middle ground with people who believe only white male Christian Americans should have any rights, I have to ask you ... what is the middle ground between my position (all American citizens should be treated with equal respect) and that position? Women get their rights taken away every other day? How do you compromise with, or respect, such a hate-filled, fact-free, extreme position?
No, I’m not asking you to do that, I’m just concerned and fed up with liberal hypocrisy which, apart from being irritating, camouflages many important issues and places a lid on discussion which leads to more problems at a later stage such as voting in a Trump figure. Something’s gone badly wrong, hasn’t it? (Apart from the fact that it’s the much loved secular religion of 'democracy' which has brought about this situation.) But if I was forced to answer your question on what is the middle ground I’d probably start by saying God, I don’t know, if I knew that then I’d be earning lots of money elsewhere! Seriously, things like both sides being less tribal, less dogmatic, more open-minded, more tentative? Less convinced of their own ‘rightness’? (And let’s not forget we’re talking about society here - social science - as opposed to physical science, where there are few absolutes or hard and fast theories), More respectful of the views of others. e.g. instead of the left claiming that the poor are so stupid they don’t recognise what their own interests are, give them the benefit of the doubt and salute their cynicism which the gullible liberal left needs a good dose of! Better informed perhaps? e.g. you made the statement:
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I feel the same is true here. A friend and I were just discussing this, in fact. Newspapers tend to cover what's happening in big cities - L.A., New York City, Washington D.C. - as if the opinions expressed there and the desires and beliefs of the residents there are somehow nationwide.
That’s interesting. In terms of power I thought we were pretty top heavy in this country and that power was more devolved in the States (aided by the presence of more major cities?) and then with this devolution in power would come a kind of devolution or filtering of attitudes? Maybe it doesn’t work like that. Also, I’ve heard Americans themselves saying America is really a combination of several different countries and I thought that might have helped promote a multiplicity of opinions etc.
the news business in the U.S. sometimes gets lazy - the big city papers don't get out of the big city often enough because they think if they know what the urbanites think and want, they know all that matters.
That’s definitely happened here and is manifested in things like one form of media copying what other forms have said but not actually getting out there to verify things. Or one day something will appear on the web and then a couple of days later it appears on TV with TV claiming it’s news.
If you're asking me to meet on middle ground with people who believe only white male Christian Americans should have any rights, I have to ask you ... what is the middle ground between my position (all American citizens should be treated with equal respect) and that position? Women get their rights taken away every other day? How do you compromise with, or respect, such a hate-filled, fact-free, extreme position?
No, I’m not asking you to do that, I’m just concerned and fed up with liberal hypocrisy which, apart from being irritating, camouflages many important issues and places a lid on discussion which leads to more problems at a later stage such as voting in a Trump figure. Something’s gone badly wrong, hasn’t it? (Apart from the fact that it’s the much loved secular religion of 'democracy' which has brought about this situation.) But if I was forced to answer your question on what is the middle ground I’d probably start by saying God, I don’t know, if I knew that then I’d be earning lots of money elsewhere! Seriously, things like both sides being less tribal, less dogmatic, more open-minded, more tentative? Less convinced of their own ‘rightness’? (And let’s not forget we’re talking about society here - social science - as opposed to physical science, where there are few absolutes or hard and fast theories), More respectful of the views of others. e.g. instead of the left claiming that the poor are so stupid they don’t recognise what their own interests are, give them the benefit of the doubt and salute their cynicism which the gullible liberal left needs a good dose of! Better informed perhaps? e.g. you made the statement: