The Polarization of Politics in America

Here you go, new topic. This is about the polarization of left and right wings and the division of the American people because of it.

People are hard-wired to neglect fact and truthful information for the sake of being "winning" an argument, basically being on the winning team is more important to most people that seeking universal truths and correcting problems:
http://sites.google.com/site/hugomercier/theargumentativetheoryofreasoning

http://216.22.10.76/wiki/The_Fundamental_Attribution_Error

The first article discusses the "argumentative theory of reasoning" which basically states that, unlike the beliefs of classical era philosophers (who believed that the role of reasoning is to critically examine our beliefs so as to discard wrong-headed ones and thus create more reliable beliefs), the ability to reason or argue evolved as a way for people in a group to establish dominance over one another. Which is why if you put a "Liberal" and "Conservative" in a room with one another all you would get was an argument of steadily increasing volume including gratuitous use of the phrase "so what you're saying is _____, and that's wrong" finally coming to a close with the two people screaming in each others faces and someone storming away. Guess what? That guy who just stormed off, thinking himself the better man, is actually viewed as a lesser person to the man who stood his ground. That's why emotion is so strongly tied to what we profess to believe in. It's why we feel there is a winner or loser in an argument. It's why we're so afraid to be wrong and why we feel there is actually something at stake if we lose our arguments. At a point in our history our status in a group was dependent on the outcome of our arguments....wait that sounds familiar. In an intellectual exchange in pursuit of truthful information, there is nothing at stake, there is no loser, and there isn't emotion tied to the discussion because everyone wins, because the ultimate goal is to establish a universal truth based on factual information, not just to tell someone their beliefs are incorrect.

That second link is the "Fundamental Attribution Error" which basically says observers in a situation pay selective attention to the most accessible and easily processed information and fail to process less obvious, yet vitally important, contextual cues. And although, the attributions a person makes using this method may not be accurate this simple attribution strategy saves the observer considerable time and effort. Basically, your brain assumes things about the way people act in a situation to save itself the effort of actually deducing what factors are at play.

Basically, I believe that these two things in tandem led to the polarization of the political atmosphere in the U.S. People subconsciously view what should be an discussion on the most productive course of action as a figurative struggle for dominance, and at the same time they are too mentally lazy to pay attention to the facts concerned in the situation. Since it's easier for people to just join a team and blindly accept the things they say, both of these conditions are satisfied, people don't have formulate their own opinions but they can still win arguments through their team.

fall is coming to an end, and the carnival is gaining momentum. The internal american olympics is quickly becomming the right topic for the wrong reason. History again shows that it time and time again creates the greatest fiction. Hypocrasy is rampant as it usually is every four years. Tasteless creatures from privileged upbringing stand on soap boxes and once again claim that there will be a chicken in every pot. Their faces all wear the same look. That of a generous man that has american interests first and for most in his heart. Claims are made that the middle class will once again rise or that religious freedoms will be protected from the evil oppostition. Its strange that they promise to protect a class that they have no affiliation with, after all do any of you care what happens in texarkana? Why would a person from a background not of the middle class care about it to begin with? and yet they stake their claim on that group. Large groups donate after all and how is someone supposed to run an effective propaganda campaign on a measly few million dollars.look within your own social circle and the people who you loosely ascociate with...whos opinion matters to you. People want to be loved and respected by those immediately surrounding them, but some how these amazing people have risen above that! they close their eyes and sleep sound knowing that people whos faces they've never seen love them, but the faces that stare through them on a daily basis despise them. These people claim to just be good hearted people like us...so why wouldnt they take the world in as we do. As the carnival progresses, americans will pick their team. we love a good competition. dancing? who gives a fuck....a dance cometition? A flood of supporters. why would this be any different for politics. The dominance of argument is ever present around the water cooler. Faults and truth are lost on trivial fact and speculation. The "truths" being what even retoric is being placed on the ever so credible television. "look at that, he took how much money from so and so?" thats certainly what matters come election time. DO you need further proof that america loves the gossip about people that dont matter...scroll through the channel guide. Facts are lost, and not because of poor reporting, but simply because both sides seek to hide the truth. Proof of this? look no further than the s. 1867 bill that just passed. It would seem one side would oppose such an oppresive piece of legislature, but this simply implies to me that both sides are working towards the same goal. the maintenance of a system that will employ both sides equally through out the years as it has so well since our birth. What promotes this idea even further is that some candidates do try to draw attention to such occurances in our system. The reward for opening their mouths is a label. "unelectable". They are only unelectable because you allow yourself to believe so. Youve given in to the system and how it opperates. Why do people say such shit. For any american to look at a candidate and simply say "i agree with what they are saying, but they will never win, they dont play the game" is the best thing about this whole joke of politics in america. Not only are they saying that the system that we love so much that we "export around the globe" is broken, but that they really dont give a fuck. we have accepted the fact that it is a crooked shitty makeshift idea with no real power aside from the power we give to it. Ill just pick the guy that will hurt me less. its a crisp winter day in the 1930's. A handsome young revolutionary and war hero is winning over the masses with passion. They cant get enough of his enthusiasm. The speeches are beautiful. WE will rebuild our great nation. Will become the icon of free society....with your support we an rebuild what was once a great nation. Will we rise from the ashes and regain our rightful position at the top. This is the greatest nation on earth and we will show that to the world.....strangely enough, ive followed this lovely little character of history. His policies were often over shadowed by his obvious zeal and love for the nation..simply that he was the saviour the nation needed. He showed that to his people with his passionate oratory. he dismissed those against him as being unpatriotic. people not totally in line with the nations goals should be thoroughly dismissed and disrespected for the outlandish views. Get in line. Join the cause and go with what we say...we have your interests at heart and we will always put you the people first


unpatriotic. A phrase that can only find a home in a totalitarian society. when did being a patriot mean falling in line with a government. This simply proves that america has lost its way. 180 degrees from where we started. a country born of free thought and practice and forged in the bloodshed of revolution. Now the people who attach themselves to labels held by honorable and fearless men pervert the true principles of what it means to be an american. These shape shifters continue to rise into position time and time again through manipulation. These stalwart protectors of freedom look to the large demographics and say "im the one who will allow you to have your god given rights". Isent this lovely? i was born into this world without my consent and now i have to agree with you enjoy the freedoms that all people inherently have? whats that? i have top pay protection money on top of that to enjoy the freedoms that exist without you telling me they do....well i guess i have no choice...imean...i would gladly donate my earned money to teachers and cops who educate and protect me, to the soldiers that defend the nation...but since your pointing a gun at me i guess i have no choice.

this momentum of nonsense is gaining steam. Men who seek the betterment of this country through change...true patriots...are being censored. They stand no chance, they simply aren't a palatable enough creature to gain support. The createns know the brain simply dosen't want to do the work...and they are more then willing to fill the gaps. so exciting....i can't wait to sit back and watch nothing change yet again in this so called forward thinking nation. A foreward thinking nation filled with more human anchors than the fluid that seeks to progress further on to the big picture. so exciting...to watch blind nationalism control sects of people that think that in this period of time....that we have it right...a few hundred years ago we were wrong...but this time, we got it right.so excited to watch our nation continue to shun facts and continue to hate people they have never met. so excited to watch religious groups disgrace their beliefs and spew their hipocrasy out into the world. To choose the side that claims to protect a right they already have not only as americans, but as human beings. so excited to watch the fringe get shunned yet again by the more easily digested virus of this nation that continues to grow. all great ideas have come from unlikely sources. if a man spoke of electricity in the 13th century, people would have burned him in a pyre. This trend continues. The anchors weigh down progress, i guess for fear of change, or maybe its the fact that they would have to admit that they were wrong all along...well that's not something we do well...actually thats not something we do at all...

its spring time...we need to import more oil to sustain our selves. we've grown so large that our infrastructure is now dependent on foreign sources, Our fearless leader is intent on preserving our way of life at any cost.......tanks have begun to roll foreign soil.... we've begun to strategically insert our military forces and bases into other countries..the world is in uproar over the policies our government has continually put onto place...those opposed have earned the ugly label of unpatriotic......we have been labeled the most oppressive and evil country in the world....our sons are leaving us in accordance with our leaders wishes...they wont be coming home.....perhaps we should have looked a little more closely at what our government had in mind...perhaps now its to late to admit we are wrong....its spring time...the birds are chirping...15 march, 1939

the problem with this is... pathological skepticism is a disease, both sides needs to consider arguments during the debate with an open mind.

all facts need to be considered, for example: the debate of whether or not there are remains of an ancient alien moon base on the moon? fact: there are "mosaic" images of the moon from observing satellites that have images that were "blurred out" by NASA before they were released to the public.. why? of course, people will go on to make assumptions and speculate, but the fact remains... what the hell happened on the moon that needed to censored from the public????? why can't i see what's really on the dark side of the moon???????

i blame the democrats... "big governments" they say... wtf, who the fuck thinks that i'm on the same fucking page as all those god damn mormons in Utah???? fuck the federal government.. if i don't agree with the laws, i want to move to another state, not another god damn country!!!!!!