I have several reactions …
The sometimes emotional discussions and talking past each, while lamentable, is also IMHO unavoidable and simply a reflection of the reality we live in. Look at the news and the breakouts for any given issue … Ferguson, CIA report, election results etc. I think, if we step back and look at the big picture, we recognize we are going through a societal evolution that happens predictably over the course of several generations. (The book, “The Fourth Turning” has a good analysis of this view). For those of us who remember high school history, the “Era of Good Feelings” was replaced two generations later by a civil war. My point is, if we are to have any discussions of political or current events topics, most of us won’t be around to see a world where civility reigns in discourse … not that it ever truly has. When a very large group of the citizens agree on a world view, the discussions will taper down … why not, we would all then be in agreement. We are obviously in kind of an alternative state at present, and it’s been evolving since the 1960s.
I was not on TOTV during the days of the prior political board that people keep referring to so I don’t have firsthand knowledge. But, I think I have the gist of what happened … name calling and all that. But, seems to me that can be moderated and dealt with. The other factor, which I totally concede, is the business model of TOTV. If they want “no politics” and prefer for business reasons to keep it pretty much at the level described in the sticky note “…We strive for this forum to be only happiness, fluff and light” then it’s their right to do that.
However, with all the things of true importance going on in the world, and having to be hamstrung or prevented from discussing these issues seems to have a very large downside … pretty boring. Maybe that’s good business here in The Villages? It’s also pretty clear … if we did have a dedicated political thread, then no one would force people to go there. In fact, that’s a microcosm of the entire philosophical divide is it not … “free market” (go there if you want, but if not don’t) vs “statism” (hey, we forbid it)
I like TOTV, and will continue to look and participate from time to time, but I have recently looked to more flexible boards that permit people (within guidelines etc) to discuss those issues that truly impact our lives. Unfortunately, and as it turns out, life is not “happiness & fluff” after all.
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