Roll Call

Originally posted by lumberjim



did you just want to have an argument here? which of your views would you like to have challenged? i'll argue whichever side you'd like if it helps you to cement your beliefs. or were you hoping for more of a general argument about how you view the world. If the latter is true, i would argue that you oversimplify and take the easy, more natrual route in most of these positions. seeing the world in black and whites is probalbly the only way you can be sure to be wrong.

LJ, you took the words right out of my mouth (or off my keyboard, as the case may be). Black and white thinking is a great way of turning every issue into a case of "us versus them." It is also intellectually lazy. "I'm right and you're stupid. " It does not lend itself to mutual understanding and the resolution of problems. Your example of "ragheads who view us as the great satan" is a classic example of the black and white thinking entertained by some members of the Muslem world. The result was 9/11. Did 9/11 solve anything for the Muslems? Not hardly. It only created hatred for Muslems here in the US and the rest of the world.

Just what is your point in listing all these pet peeves of yours? Do you want re-assurance that everyone feels the same way? Everyone is going to have a different take on the issues, and when they argue their reasons for their opinions, some of their thinking is going to be correct and some of it may be flawed. Very little in this world is all black or all white.

And by the way, I am very proud of some aspects of American culture, including the contributions made by black Americans.