Political Polarization Discourse

It's a pity to see the downvotes you're getting for a very reasonable comment. This is exactly the problem with the original parent comment, "you're with us or against us". Zealotry for political issues is still zealotry, and has no place in a civil society. It's a shame if the HN zeitgeist has really turned into that.

I wish this wasn't downvoted. It's sarcastic, but not inflammatory, and the political/idealogical divide in the US is a real contributor to this problem, I think.

You're being downvoted due to being needlessly divisive and partisan. We should be able to discuss individual political events without turning it into an "us vs them" shitflinging contest.

You're doing the thing in the article. The truth is enough people regardless of political stance struggle to explicitly negotiate with ideas that are counter to their own world-view. That's not an unfortunate trait of any one demographic.

Stop punishing one party for not being perfect but striving for better, but letting the other off for the most blatantly obvious destructive practices because that is who they are.I'm going to be honest - attitudes like yours are the reason why politics is so nasty in the US.Rather than take the perspective that everyone wants the best for the country, there are just disagreements on what best looks like and how to get there, you're just taking the perspective that the oth

the problem is both sides are so caught up in their own identity politics that they can't see the other's perspective. the same goes for right-wing and left-wing in America.

I'm not sure if you realize it - but your comment is the problem, not the original poster. Sometimes facts don't fit a political narrative. Comments like yours are what have polarized the nation. Your knee-jerk reaction to anything that disagrees with your position is to name-call and shame. Not very good form.

This is just another example of the American political discourse. You have two sides that don't even accept the same facts or reality. Most people don't bother to understand the issues but still passionately defend the talking points of "their side". See climate change or health care or guns. Impossible to have any kind of discussion.

Indeed. The tactics and intolerance for different opinions is pretty similar on both ends of the political spectrum.I think the US would make a huge leap forward if different political opinions we're viewed with "I disagree with you" versus "your beliefs mean youre a bad person".

I disagree, I think it’s a reflection of lack of critical thinking skills when it comes to political topics. People are so polarized now they have lost the ability to discuss nuance, see the other side, or really compromise at all.Everything is couched in terms of “with us or against us” extremist dichotomies much like the one hiding in the undertone of your post.Of course everyone thinks their political views are critical to life the same way people think their religion is important. It’s