The Value of Civil Public Discourse

[sirguessalot]

i hope this is considered to be on topic...and i wish i could afford to sit and write more

but ive written enough around here...i guess...i think my hypertextual days are pretty much over for now

so...just a small reminder of these kinds of time-tested possibilities that might help regarding greater civility in dialogue processes

i pray it helps yall somehow

[doojable]

The value of civil public discourse?...I could probably go on and on about personal freedom and individuality versus groupthink...it's important that people can express their own ideas openly...as long as they keep it "civil"...I think that a person should expect to be treated respectfully and should treat others likewise...but I am also of the opinion that if you are entering into a debate, you should not have thin skin when someone disagrees with you...

...disagreement should also be expected.

Oh the disagreements are the best part! Besides, how else do we get to show off how clever we can be?

If we all agreed on everything we'd be clones... :confused: :confused:

Rubber stamps should be confined for use in scrap books, IMHO.

[excathedra]

Conversely, the abuse doesn't erase the good times, for me. It hasn't and it won't, ever

the abuse doesn't erase the good times for me either, but it sure puts a damper on 'em.....

[now I see]

It was GSC that opened my eyes to the assault on me as a pattern most often against women. And began to restore some of my crushed self-esteem.

This is where I was at...then I took the red pill and so much of the self condemnation and self incrimination evaporated.

Thank God for Greasespot, and the exchange of ideas, experiences and thoughts from those who’ve left TWI.

Eyes & Twinky, it sounds like we three had very similar experiences in our departures from TWI. It was here, for me too, that I finally found the knowledge and understanding which enabled a lot of the healing from the devastation which TWI caused so many years ago.

What I’ve found here too is that there’s been a constant wearing away of what I thought I knew that I knew about the bible. Sort of like how a stone gets polished and rounded in a stream by the constant flow of water slowly rubbing off all the rough edges. So much of what we believed in was based on fables from the right wing rhetoric of some obscure periodical and the drunken musings of an old has been plagerist charlatan, fables which he pontificated as truth and God breathed that really held no water.

So much of what was fed to us seeped into our belief system and our own identity that sometimes it’s a painful process to be confronted here with perhaps another way of thinking about something biblical or relating to TWI.  

[Eyesopen]

So much of what was fed to us seeped into our belief system and our own identity that sometimes it’s a painful process to be confronted here with perhaps another way of thinking about something biblical or relating to TWI.  

Yup! That's what I'm experiencing.

[excathedra]

dooj or anyone, can you tell me in a sentence what this thread is about ? thank you

i get value (things my mom taught me)

i get civil (i think) -- be polite ?

i get public (this place right?)

discourse (means discussion eh ?)

[doojable]

Discourse means discussion or conversation.

My first post gives the reasons that I find open discussion (with all sides being discussed) valuable.

Edited January 14, 2008 by doojable

[JeffSjo]

I'm thankful for your post Doojable and the thread.

Truth must of neccessity include both good and bad I think. Sometimes anger and sometimes kindness too.

I like it best when I err on the good and kind side but that hasn't always been the case.