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A letter to today’s young people

marco.org

1–10 of 17 posts

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#2
Not the best message to young people: that puts people on either "the good, progressive side" or the "bad, conservative side". This is what creates the divisive, no-compromise society we see today. In addition, for some folks, it will seem like someone is telling them how to think.

The world is often more mixed than you'd think. For example, it's not like Trump supporters all absolutely reject progressive ideals. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voters-climate-cha...

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#3
post #2

Not the best message to young people: that puts people on either "the good, progressive side" or the "bad, conservative side". This is what creates the divisive, no-compromise society we see today. In addition, for some folks, it will seem like someone is telling them how to think. The world is often more mixed than you'd think. For example, it's not like Trump supporters all absolutely reject progressive ideals. htt…

I'm in agreement vtange. This paragraph stuck out the most to me: "In the meantime, do everything you can to help, support, and stand up for the millions of people whose country just let them down, many of whom live in homes and communities that have just become unwelcoming or unsafe."

We live in a democracy - what about the millions of other people who feel like Trump will vocalize what they've been feeling for a long time? I'm not saying any one is right or wrong, but this article does seem to imply that there are millions of people who were just made victims by the outcome of the election. It does nothing to start a meaningful dialogue. I think it's important that we Help, Support, and Stand Up...but not because the country let anyone down. We should do that for everyone, everyday because they are Human Beings and they deserve it. Categorizing people into groups is exactly what landed this country in this polarizing situation. We need to start treating all people decently, not just the ones we're in agreement with. Kindness is the International Currency.

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#4
post #2

Not the best message to young people: that puts people on either "the good, progressive side" or the "bad, conservative side". This is what creates the divisive, no-compromise society we see today. In addition, for some folks, it will seem like someone is telling them how to think. The world is often more mixed than you'd think. For example, it's not like Trump supporters all absolutely reject progressive ideals. htt…

Americans need to stop dividing themselves into liberal and conservative. People are much more complex. This way of thinking is the best recipe for an eventual civil war and in the meantime it stops any reasonable political discourse.

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#6
post #5

If being liberal is right, why do a lot of people switch camps when they get older. You get less correct with age? Or maybe it's a little more complex than that?

I think in general people just want more stability as they get older, including protecting the wealth and status they've accumulated. Rightly or wrongly, this might encourage them to support the "conservative" side, which purports to want to protect the status quo and the way things were in "the good old days".

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#7
post #6
post #5

If being liberal is right, why do a lot of people switch camps when they get older. You get less correct with age? Or maybe it's a little more complex than that?

I think in general people just want more stability as they get older, including protecting the wealth and status they've accumulated. Rightly or wrongly, this might encourage them to support the "conservative" side, which purports to want to protect the status quo and the way things were in "the good old days".

When dealing with the conservative, liberal divide I don't think right or wrong are the correct way to look at things. I myself have shifted from liberal to conservative. I don't think patting my self on the back saying I'm correct and congratulating everyone who agrees with me is productive. I want a better society for myself, my family and for everyone else. My view on the way to get there has changed, that doesn't make me better or worse than someone that wants to try a different way.

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#8
Some of the best, kindest, most giving people I know are conservative. They're your firefighters, your nurses, your doctors, your mechanics, your teachers... Many, many people that are deep and complex and everything they believe is not wrong. This author would do well to acquaint himself with the side he demonizes and get to know people outside his bubble and the lens of propaganda.

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#9
> Obama didn’t (and couldn’t) fix everything Bush broke. But we did fix most of it, and made a lot of progress in major new areas as well. Overall, we came out way ahead.

The Drone and Stuxnet programs are far from a step forward. Every president seems to bring us to a worse state then before. It's not a political line that needs to be drawn but instead one of corruption.

Re: A letter to today’s young people

#10
post #7
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think in general people just want more stability as they get older, including protecting the wealth and status they've accumulated. Rightly or wrongly, this might encourage them to support the "conservative" side, which purports to want to protect the status quo and the way things were in "the good old days".

When dealing with the conservative, liberal divide I don't think right or wrong are the correct way to look at things. I myself have shifted from liberal to conservative. I don't think patting my self on the back saying I'm correct and congratulating everyone who agrees with me is productive. I want a better society for myself, my family and for everyone else. My view on the way to get there has changed, that doesn't…

Agreed. I think "a better society for myself, my family and for everyone else" is what a lot of people want. (I would have said it's what most people want, except for the part about also wanting it "for everyone else".) Unfortunately, strategies for attempting to achieve a better society reside in an incredibly complex multi-dimensional space, but the media and the US political system force those strategies to be projected down onto a single dimension of liberal versus conservative, then discretized into two sides. The end result being that probably most people are unhappy with the way political discourse is carried out, but can't do anything productive about it. At least that's how I feel right now...
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