TO ALL - Please lower the decibel level! Remember, "a soft word turneth away wrath" -- at least sometimes. Try it. You might like it -- unless your intention is to provoke wrath (as in certain specific cases, I suspect it is).
I personally am going to stop posting to this thread (not to speak of the "other" one), if the constant flow of invective (and mockery) does not stop. The whole thing gives me a headache.
I agree that both "sides" have been guilty of insult-hurling. As a matter of fact, I particularly dislike it when someone who is voicing a position I share mixes it up with sneers and/or insults, which, in essence, discredit the very position he/she is supposedly defending.
I also agree wholeheartedly with j_b, who points out that "there have been many attempts by people on both sides of this issue to carry on a thoughtful meaningful discussion." (For reasons I will outline below, I would not endorse 100% the rest of his sentence -- "even if it is highly unlikely that anyone's mind will be changed".)
It is obvious that different people have different reasons for posting to this thread. Some time ago, I suggested, in jest, running a poll of our posters to determine their reasons for posting. I don't remember precisely my list of possible reasons, but it went something like this:
I post here in order to:
1) Find out what other people think about the issues involved.
2) Obtain concrete information on the issues, get tips on good sources for such information, etc.
3) Engage in a dialogue that may succeed in dispelling at least some misunderstandings, and bringing discussants a little closer on some points at issue.
4) Persuade the "opposition" that I am right about everything.
5) Smite the opposition hip and thigh.
In my opinion, (4) is unrealistic. although (3) is not (that's what I meant, j_b).
As for (5), it may be fun for people whose adrenalin level needs constant pumping, but for the rest of us, I venture to say, all the hollerin' is headache-producing.
jbe
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