Ivanovich you are not the typical republican. The republican party has taken on a fundamentalist belief, a religious fervor and an attitude of anyone that disagrees with us is wrong and even evil or worse a socialist. I too try to focus on issues. My main problem with the republicans, they are a focus on what they think are principles (or what the gurus tell them are their principles) and not a focus on what will work, a truly narrow minded group of people for the most part. I have no proof except observation but I think people inclined to strict fundamentalist religious belief are more inclined to be fundamentalist republicans. And they follow the Rush, Hannity, Beck's and the other sub-cult republican leaders just like the religious follow the TV preachers and religious gurus. Does the left has it's own set of problems, of course. But the right presents a much greater danger to our nation than the left, so that is where our focus should be controlling the right and preventing the cult from leading our country.
Most folks think their position is the correct position, not only for themselves but others. When that decision that something is correct is the product of indoctrination and done so in a fundamentalist way...black and white, all or nothing, a God argument, a particular spin on the constitution, then the belief in what is correct becomes like concrete. In turn, the proponents become self righteous in their positions. Everything is hard and fast. Question it? "Look in the Bible, it is right there what is correct." Question something else? "Look in the Constitution, it is right there what is correct." When you bring up that the Bible or Constitution were written a long time ago, and the people who wrote them are no longer here to help us interpret those words properly...they get all self righteous. It really boils down to whether someone thinks they can reason by themselves to what is right, that they can make a superior argument for what is right based on secular thinking and common sense. If they see that their position is wrong, because they are open minded, their mindset and ideas can change. If their thought process is erected on a foundation of "Jesus said it" or "The Framers said it" there is pure fundamentalism. When these fundamentalists observe two religious men arguing over what Jesus meant then you typically have a religious conflict...which often ends up in killing someone for their different spin on what Jesus was attributed to say. When these fundamentalists observe two constitutional scholars arguing over what the words of the Constitution actually mean as applies to situations today...you see at the extreme a Civil war. All of this is because of the fundamentalist disease of thinking being the product of a belief system...often a religious belief system. Why can't people just make fallacy free arguments for their position? Why can't their be a reason that wins the argument...and not self righteousness, dogmatism, "Jesus said" or "The Constitution says" yada, yada, yada. Probably because the emotions get so rooted in the feeling of being right...the feeling of being right, the self righteousness is addictive and emotionally driven.
Great post 777! As for an answer to your last question, the solution is not always easy to come by. Most problems are extremely complex esp those of politics, philosophy & religion. And then there's the disagreement in appropriate selection of premises to argue from. The problem of extenuating circumstances ... and just what the truthful facts are etc So you can see simple reasons/solutions almost never work. That's what makes for a horserace and the stockmarket. Want to argue about it lol
Hardly, in fact I help support them, I've eaten at McDonalds several times in the past couple of weeks.