On Nov 17, 2020, at 7:03 PM, Liam Proven via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org<mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org>> wrote:
Argh! I was not posting to the list that I thought I was. I apologise for using that nickname. :-( Liam, …. does it actually make it better that you were posting to the wrong list? I say this without rancor because generally you are right about our financial (and other) self-centeredness, I have to admit it. Heck, I’m from Texas, and *we* do it to the rest of the United States - to say nothing of furriners. But one of ‘murikas biggest problems right now may stem at least partly from people referring, within their "in-crowd", to the "out-crowd" in a disparaging manner. Our political system is veering rapidly from a functional democracy (1) to a non-functional democracy (2) because of this. I strongly suspect almost nobody in either leading political party today would give me anything more than a blank look if I quoted to them the last lines of our Pledge of Allegiance: “one nation …. **indivisible**, with liberty and justice **for all**.” (double emphasis added). Even within our own borders, we can find plenty of reasons to disagree *without* having resort to stereotyping nicknames. And yet, every other word in a political discussion these days is emotionally loaded. Not that it’s a huge deal, but, just for a while, it might be worth your consideration to think whether a nickname you don’t want to use in one group, for fear of offending, is a great idea to use in a different group. Echo chambers and internet bubbles being what they are, setting a trend of tolerance and respect for outsiders could do a lot of good these days. All, sorry for the decidedly off-topic post, (figurative) freshly healing eyeball scars from watching the debates leading up to our recent election. ——— (1) The old-fashioned New England Town Hall meeting. Everyone gets their turn to speak and is listened to, arguments happen but so does compromise, and by the end of the meeting a vote is hardly necessary because the best compromise solution has become obvious to all. (2) per Ambrose Bierce in “The Devil’s Dictionary”: Three wolves and a Sheep sitting down to decide what’s for dinner.
