Unfortunately, I think the "common ground" you speak of is, at root, the absence of critical thinking, related to - an at best - ambivalence about the value of truth. The real "inconvenient truth" is that truth itself is very often inconvenient. We worship many other considerations above the truth or trying to understand things through reason, yet we are generally not even honest about this. When we do not value apprehending reality (as best as possible, better than our current or given understanding) as a bedrock, fundamental governing value or principle (of individuals, societies, nations) then we are too easily satisfied with the "given" - with the way things are, what we hear or see or are told, with explanations, with things at face value. When we are satisfied, for whatever reason, we aren't skeptical and we don't ask questions. When we don't ask questions, we are not thinking critically. When we don't think critically, we are not using reason and we also are easily manipulated and fooled by language. When others deliberately use language to obfuscate reality or for some other purpose than elucidating reality, this is rhetoric. We also readily deceive ourselves with language, including the "language" of mathematics, such as with statistics.
All of us fall prey to this to some extent, some of the time. Even the most brilliant scientists, who may engage in critical thinking as a high art in the narrow questions they pursue do not necessarily think critically in general, across all domains, issues, important societal problems, discourse, etc. My best guess is that the vast majority of people, certainly in this country, only engage in regular critical thinking in limited, sporadic ways, such as in their job or certain areas of interest or when critiquing some "other" (group, party, person, position, etc.) or in certain circumstances or with certain people. When it comes to public discourse on public policy and important social or political issues, real critical thinking, on both or all sides, is rare, though few would probably agree that this is true for "their side." That failure to engage in self-critical examination is itself a failure of critical thinking. Anyway, better stop, as computer keeps freezing and better get outside while the sun is still out on this beautiful day. Or before I get tarred and feathered here! Randall ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stewart A. Marshall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 12:40 AM Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Off topic-political > That is usually how it is viewed. > > My church body has had a right left battle going for about 50 years or more. > > Having seen some stuff from the right and from the left, I can assure > you they are mirror images. > > If they would spend some time listening to each other (which they > usually don't) and trying to walk a mile in their shoes they might > come down from their holy mountains and find some common ground. > > Usually that is not to be and the common ground is left standing vacant. > > Those of us who stand in the middle are very numerous, just very > quiet. (at least quieter than the extremes.) > > Stewart > > > At 12:29 AM 4/29/2007, you wrote: >>No, no Rev, you've got it all wrong. >> >>Your side is brilliant, honest, forthright, righteous, of the highest ethics >>and above reproach. >> >>The other side is evil, stupid and/or ignorant, dishonest, sleazy and always >>up to something no good. >> >>And, above all, you are never a partisan, just the other guy. >> >>Most importantly though, if you don't believe in the same thing, you're the >>other guy from the other side. >> >> > -----Original Message----- >> > It goes both ways both left and right. >> > >> > The Radical Right is just as bad as the radical left. They are >> > really mirror images of each other. >> > >> > Stewart > > Rev. Stewart A. Marshall > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org > Ozark, AL SL 82 > > > ************************************************************************ > * ==> QUICK LIST-COMMAND REFERENCE - Put the following commands in <== > * ==> the body of an email & send 'em to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <== > * Join the list: SUBSCRIBE COMPUTERGUYS-L Your Name > * Too much mail? Try Daily Digests command: SET COMPUTERGUYS-L DIGEST > * Tired of the List? Unsubscribe command: SIGNOFF COMPUTERGUYS-L > * New address? From OLD address send: CHANGE COMPUTERGUYS-L YourNewAddress > * Need more help? Send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ************************************************************************ > * List archive at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > * RSS at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > * Messages bearing the header "X-No-Archive: yes" will not be archived > ************************************************************************ > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.2/780 - Release Date: 4/29/2007 6:30 > AM > ************************************************************************ * ==> QUICK LIST-COMMAND REFERENCE - Put the following commands in <== * ==> the body of an email & send 'em to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <== * Join the list: SUBSCRIBE COMPUTERGUYS-L Your Name * Too much mail? Try Daily Digests command: SET COMPUTERGUYS-L DIGEST * Tired of the List? Unsubscribe command: SIGNOFF COMPUTERGUYS-L * New address? From OLD address send: CHANGE COMPUTERGUYS-L YourNewAddress * Need more help? Send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************************************************ * List archive at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ * RSS at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml * Messages bearing the header "X-No-Archive: yes" will not be archived ************************************************************************
