Get rid of Religion and all our problems will be solved. NOT!

[bobhikes]

Over 50 Years, the Partisan Divide Just Keeps Getting Worse

This Link talks about the divide between Republicans and Democrats and how it is even worse than the religious divide. Here's some quotes from it.

Surveys over time have used a 100-point thermometer scale to rate how we feel toward other groups, from cold to warm. Democrats and Republicans have been giving lower and lower scores For the first time, the most common answer given was zero, the worst possible option.

sweeping 2014 Pew study that found that “partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive” than at any point in the last two decades.

Last year, Pew found that 70 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans considered members of the opposing party to be more close-minded than other Americans. They also considered opposing partisans exceptionally immoral, lazy and dishonest,

Today, partisan prejudice even exceeds racial hostility

“We have all of these data which converge on the bottom-line conclusion that party is the No. 1 cleavage in contemporary American society,” Mr. Iyengar said.

 

[suncowiam]

Using a faulty system as an example is not justification to allow other faulty systems.

"Two wrongs don't make a right."

Plus, they are not equivalent.

I don't think anyone here will suggest that we have a perfect bi-partisan system. It is very flawed.

I personally would love to give independents more resources to drive a proper campaign.

 

[bobhikes]

Using a faulty system as an example is not justification to allow other faulty systems.

"Two wrongs don't make a right."

Plus, they are not equivalent.

I don't think anyone here will suggest that we have a perfect bi-partisan system. It is very flawed.

I personally would love to give independents more resources to drive a proper campaign.

No but it show's that humans will take any excuse to create a divide between each other. To the point of dismissing the other group as human at all. Race, Religion, Politic's etc. it doesn't matter there will always be an excuse for the closed minded.

 

[leibowde84]

No but it show's that humans will take any excuse to create a divide between each other. To the point of dismissing the other group as human at all. Race, Religion, Politic's etc. it doesn't matter there will always be an excuse for the closed minded.

The one thing that can combat this is leadership. We need leaders who ignore their constituents, ignore their party, and are OK with only having one term (as they surely won't be reelected) and actually do the right thing. Run as a Republican or Democrat, but, once elected, immediately reach out to the other side of the aisle and ignore their base. Only consider bipartisan legislation. But, our leaders right now are not even near willing to do that.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Did anyone actually think that removing religion would end all the world's problems? At most I've seen people claim that ending religion would provide a crucial step forward to loosening the stranglehold of hide-bound traditionalism in which sexism, homophobia, racism and prejudice due to religious upbringing flourish (and I personally don't even completely agree with that.)
But yes, I agree, it's all to easy to culture an us vs. them mindset in bipartisan politics. Though this exists in other parts of the world with particularly strong political divisions, even if it's more than two.

 

[Nakosis]

“We have all of these data which converge on the bottom-line conclusion that party is the No. 1 cleavage in contemporary American society,” Mr. Iyengar said.

What I find interesting is that I works with lots of folks. They could be Dems or Reps probably a good mixture of both. Don't know, don't ask.

I get a long with them all fine. No quarrels, no fighting, no politics.

My wife and her sister got along all of their lives, until they discover they were on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

Folks that'd probably normally get along fine now be macing each other, shooting each other all cause of politics.

 

[VioletVortex]

Get rid of politics, then maybe our problems will be solved.

 

[Glaurung]

Get rid of politics, then maybe our problems will be solved.

An argument for absolute monarchy is precisely that. Democracy cannot but split a nation into opposed political camps, which over time become more entrenched and extreme which eventually destabilises a nation due to both ideological animosity and increasingly reckless short-term policies made to serve that increasing ideological animosity. If power is concentrated into a hereditary sovereign, who is above any need to buy the democratic mandate then that monarch will (if he is rational) act in such a way that is best for the long term interests of the nation. It's in the king's interests to do so. A politician by contrast, only concerns himself with buying power. Democracy incentivises shortsightedness.

The flaw of the system is when you get a sovereign who is not rational. Then that very advantage of being above any need to buy power becomes the very problem.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Anyone who wants to be a politician shouldn't be allowed to be one. Every elected official should be dragged, kicking and screaming into service - and then kicked back out before they get too used to it and start trying to do things.

 

[icehorse]

Did anyone actually think that removing religion would end all the world's problems?

This is a great answer. It seems that a frequent apologist argument boils down to "well X isn't the only problem in the world, therefore we shouldn't criticize X".

I think this might be the "nirvana fallacy" ?

 

[ADigitalArtist]

This is a great answer. It seems that a frequent apologist argument boils down to "well X isn't the only problem in the world, therefore we shouldn't criticize X".

I think this might be the "nirvana fallacy" ?

I'll post in your other thread about it.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Over 50 Years, the Partisan Divide Just Keeps Getting Worse

This Link talks about the divide between Republicans and Democrats and how it is even worse than the religious divide. Here's some quotes from it.

Surveys over time have used a 100-point thermometer scale to rate how we feel toward other groups, from cold to warm. Democrats and Republicans have been giving lower and lower scores For the first time, the most common answer given was zero, the worst possible option.

sweeping 2014 Pew study that found that “partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive” than at any point in the last two decades.

Last year, Pew found that 70 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans considered members of the opposing party to be more close-minded than other Americans. They also considered opposing partisans exceptionally immoral, lazy and dishonest,

Today, partisan prejudice even exceeds racial hostility

“We have all of these data which converge on the bottom-line conclusion that party is the No. 1 cleavage in contemporary American society,” Mr. Iyengar said.

Its probably a matter of time before new dominant parties surface to replace Democrats and Republicans as they are today. Like past dominant, now defunct parties like the Federalists and the Wigs in past US history.