tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post1943615311957213957..comments2024-03-29T10:02:52.586-04:00Comments on Politics and its Discontents: Sometimes Progressives Can Be As Dogmatic As Their Right-Wing CounterpartsLornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-14311498484378666892016-03-15T08:13:00.535-04:002016-03-15T08:13:00.535-04:00I sometimes wonder, Salamander, whether something ...I sometimes wonder, Salamander, whether something that is probably a natural human inclination has become worse under the 'democratization' that the Internet has made possible. We all like to believe that our position is the best, and our egos certainly crave widespread validation. With the ability of anyone to now put forth his or her own views, a once latent narcissism seems to now be in full bloom. <br /><br />Could that account for the stridency and factionalism we are now witnessing?Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-38338455531419186502016-03-14T20:28:06.293-04:002016-03-14T20:28:06.293-04:00.. I often believe there are three 'sides'..... I often believe there are three 'sides' to every story.. and only one of them true,. & that's usually the version getting zero exposure via mainstream media.. while two polarizing versions make the news or become headlines (climate change anyone? Wild vs farmed salmon anyone? Diluted bitumen is unfairly 'discounted' vs Brent Benchmark North Sea sweet light crude? Man walked among dinosaurs anyone? Election Fraud in 240 + ridings is just political 'hijinks' anyone ?)<br /><br />Marine biology gets the short end of the stick constantly.. whether wild salmon, keychain species like herring, boreal caribou & wolf.. or the onslaught of pesticides hitting the marine food chain or fertilizer runoff trashing freshwater lakes and streams..This stuff should be common sense by now.. but no.. there has to be that strident arguementation Mound references.. the polarized political views, the vested interest interference, blurring & obstruction.. often from the highest levels of public servants.. Think Peter Kent, Keith Ashfield, Stephen Harper, Joe Oliver, Jim Flaherty, John Baird et al ..<br />the salamanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853337802990122289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-59394938236276001052016-03-14T16:40:55.705-04:002016-03-14T16:40:55.705-04:00Reading your blog entry today on our very dire sit...Reading your blog entry today on our very dire situation regarding rising temperatures is yet another strong indicator that the cohesiveness needed for our survival is very much a question mark, Mound. Without a shared sense of purpose that is not so easily overturned by relatively small matters, the big issues will go untended.Lornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15741324981120408977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7884128379999766348.post-52554614392795539402016-03-14T16:17:05.649-04:002016-03-14T16:17:05.649-04:00Surely this is a situation that calls for compromi...Surely this is a situation that calls for compromise. Remove the platform and all possible hazards to navigation. Leave the bottom part of the legs as an 'artificial reef.' You're right though. There is far too much "my way or the highway" stridency today and it seems to surface on less than existential issues like this.<br /><br />I think that we're on course to become increasingly strident as civil society wanes and the social differences flourish. I'm beginning to feel we've been conditioned to accept this very outcome.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.com