<p>Roger_Dooley, who are you? As an admin, is this a full time job? Are they paying you money and stuff to do this? Is this a full time profession for you?</p>
<p>How would one rationalize banning political discussions? If you don't like them, just ignore them. The same goes for discussions of AA and religion. Even if they're repetitive and pointless, why not just let them go on, and ignore them if they don't interest you? There is plenty of more topical and more constructive literature on CC if that's what you're looking for.</p>
<p>The only possible downside to having these expansive political debates is that they probably eat up bandwidth, but then again, they probably also generate a large amount of page views and a proportional amount of traffic for the sponsors of CC.</p>
<p>Seriously, we do need to keep political discussions open. I personally feel very strongly about the active participation of youth in politics, even if it's just debating your views with someone else on a forum like this one. </p>
<p>It's common knowledge that the age group from 18-24 has the lowest voter turnout of any age group in nearly all elections, federal or local. Why do think politicians are always campaigning in retirement homes? Because senior citizens usually turn out to vote in droves. Why don't politicians cater more to the interests of teens? Because we don't care, we aren't educated, and thus we don't vote. </p>
<p>Like the famous Montesquieu quote goes, "The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy."</p>
<p>Thus the politician from Washington only has to worry about No Child Left Behind looking good to the parent or grandparent with an active ballot, instead of considering how it will actually impact the teen who has a vote but is too apathetic or uninformed to cast it.</p>
<p>What happened to Roger<em>Dooley</em>II ? LMAO</p>
<p>I love the political discussions. To the extent they stray into ad hominim attacks, I ignore them.</p>
<p>I've had some very enjoyable exchanges with people of sharply differing views.</p>
<p>If you ban political discussion on the board, it's going to turn into a very bland neighborhood.</p>
<p>What's LMAO?
I had a personal note about Roger Dooley last night. He is actually a co-founder of the site, not just an admin. I think he had an evening where he was feeling a bit sensitive and he might have taken some of the barbs too personally. I don't think he understood how much some of us politically junkies loved his site. We know not to take it too personally, but if you don't like lively debate, you can take it badly. I think he must have reconsidered because he did, indeed, take a very personal note off the thread. I do feel bad for him, because if you're not tough skinned you don't want debate with those of opposing views..AND it's his site. He didn't want anyyone offended..with good reason. With the vote running the way it is, I think he now understands a bit more how much we love his site and how thankful we are it's here, not just for the absolutely incredible college info, but for the friend's we've all made and the excitement it gives to one's day.</p>
<p>religous bashing still needs to stop...people expect to learn from these threads, and if there's extensive ill-will towards a particular religion, and someone constantly throws out views that do not correspond with the facts, it is rather destructive to the actual educational value of the thread. People need to stop thinking through assumption and actually educate themselves on the matter at hand.</p>
<p>I think that there either needs to be a sub-forum to which all political discussion is confined or no political discussion at all. All this stuff about "Bush Haha" or "How did an idiot like Kerry get into Yale?" is pointless. There may be a worthwhile political discussion for the first few posts, but then the entire thing degnerates into worthless personal attacks. There are countless other forums that host political discussion (at least one of which that was even created by a member of CC) so the argument that it is necessary to foster political discussion and expose us to the "real world" is misguided. If you want political discussion you shouldn't come to a college admissions site, just as if you wanted to discuss college you wouldn't go to a political discussion site.</p>
<p>Most of the political discussion boards that I've come across are heavily dominated by a particular political mindset, and I would be interested in any where substantive debate amongst people of different ideologies takes place. Can anyone recommend any?</p>
<p>Well, oftentimes it is threads that stray into political discussions when someone presents a personal situation. There is nothing wrong with political discussion however, and though people rarely change their minds, it is important to discuss for education, and to gather information. People don't want to admit to losing a debate, but they may think about some new information they learned earlier and then change their position. I know I have.</p>
<p>I definitely do feel that, purely because of the diversity of the backgrounds of people on CC from all the corners of this country, and the world, that there are people that very much oppose each others' positions. I've even felt that my Christian religion has been bashed too. Religious bashings do get offensive, but often they are unintentional and purely because the offender does not realize that they are offending. Having discussions with very different people fosters tolerance and understanding, so in the end political debate is good, especially on topics that not everyone knows a whole lot about, such as homosexuality and stem cell research. It is also fun.</p>
<p>I will concede that abortion debates rarely get anywhere.</p>
<p>As for the ad hominem attacks, yeah it sometimes gets rough, but as they say, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.</p>
<p>logosprincipal: sometimes i enjoy debating legions of the opposing viewpoint, could you name some sites?</p>
<p>It should be religious questioning..not bashing, because as I said before, religion seems to be the base of so much politics today, THAT should be questioned.
Slip stream, you've been outvoted and you're only 19. You might want to stay off the parent cafe site and you won't get as upset. Did you start college yet? You will find tons of politcal discussions there, or certainly you should, because that's how opinions are formed and your ideas are widened; by hearing other views and picking up ideas that you might have missed while you might have been busy playing video games or hanging out with friends. Yes, in the midst of discussions even adults sometimes resort to name calling, but it only echo's one's frustration when supposedly very bright people can't see the forest for the trees. How can they not understand what is so clear? Also, some politicians should be called names. Frist deciding from a video tape that Schiavo was fine and had her brain intact deserves all the names he's called. That was inexcusable and so politically motivated. I say one thing, you better get a tougher skin, it's a crazy world out there and in a couple of years you'll be facing a tough work place and nutty people, many who will be your managers!!</p>
<p>lauras50, i do believe that was an ad hominem attack about his age.</p>
<p>oh, and Roger_Dooley: I understand that the sixty seconds between posts rule is to prevent spamming, but it can get annoying. Think you could reduce that?</p>
<p>"It should be religious questioning..not bashing, because as I said before, religion seems to be the base of so much politics today, THAT should be questioned."</p>
<p>There is alot of bashing, um.... "questioning" I wanna do about Christianity ;)</p>
<p>Christianity isn't one set of beliefs. There are many churches with many varying interpretations of what you may "question."</p>
<p>Alot like the different sects of Islam.</p>
<p>Anonymou5,</p>
<p>If you're asking about conservative discussion boards, I'm sure that I could provide some. However, from what I remember from reading your previous postings I believe that you are fairly conservative in your outlook. Is this correct?</p>
<p>As far as politically liberal to far left boards, I've just come across them occassionally when I've been searching for something. I can't give you any addresses, but I'm sure there are many here who can.</p>
<p>I said he doesn't understand yet that it is okay to argue and disagree and even get passionate about it. My son doesn't understand that either and when we have politcal discussions with him he takes it all personally and mostly we are on the same political side with him, it's the politicians we're upset with. . .. Young people can be very smart and articulate and sharp as a tack, but wisdom only comes with time and perspective. We all were young once and missing a lot of common sense and perspective. He asked that we cut out the discussions because they made him feel uncomfortable. He's got to consider why he feels uncomfortable and learn to be more open to other's discourse. We can't fix problems if they aren't discussed. Even in a marriage some difficult topics must be discussed, he might as well start with politics to learn to listen to others without flinching..</p>
<p>i am very conservative on abortion, fairly liberal on gay rights, conservative about trade, liberal about welfare, and logical about foreign policy.</p>
<p>the Democratic party's prejudice against those who are pro-life has pushed me towards the Republican party, i must admit.</p>
<p>"Alot like the different sects of Islam"</p>
<p>Islam doesnt have "many sects." They believe in the same thing and they do not have any divisons. Shiites and Sunnis were grouped based on POLITICAL beliefs, not religious. Conservatives have a very wrong perception of Islam. I have perceptions of Christianity too, but they arent wrong and are highly questionable.</p>
<p>Thanks for that, my mistake. I admit I'm relatively uninformed about Islam, but I do know that there is no unified Muslim "church" so there is no unified interpretation.</p>
<p>Anonymou5,</p>
<p>You could probably visit any discussion board, conservative or liberal, and find people to debate with.</p>
<p>lauras50, I do not mean to offend, but I feel that you are a prime example of why political discussions are so ineffective on this website. Even the most innocuous discussions can be turned into a personal attack (for instance, on my age and my apparently not 'tough' skin). To clarify any of your misconceptions about me, I do enjoy political discussion if it is in the proper arena. For instance, I was minority whip in my county's Model Student Senate. I came with the expectation of heated political discussion and thoroughly enjoyed it, even more so because the discussion between more than 70 students was political and only once turned personal during two days of continuous debate, which is far more than can be said for the exchanges hosted on this site. </p>
<p>Also, I very rarely visit the parent cafe. There are political dogfights on virtually every forum, though most notably the College Confidential Cafe. </p>
<p>And about growing up to face the "crazy world" and "nutty" managers, I never said that I minded people who voice very different opinions than mine. What I do mind is people who resort to ad hominem attacks (e.g. - assuming I must be completely unversed in politics and disconnected from any reality that is the "real world"). I should hope that people who have been escalated to managerial positions should have the sense to be more respectful of other people and not make unfounded and disparaging assumptions.</p>
<p>EDIT: Even if you deny that you resorted to a personal attack, it is undeniable that most all of your posts so far on this thread have contained a certain element of hostility that is completely unnecessary and unprompted.</p>