Reply #114: Well, I concur completely about the need to respect others in the debate [View All]

by not insisting that we know what they are thinking. If we really were able to read the minds of others, then that would certainly eliminate the need to even bother posting here, as what would be he point, really?

The more absolutist the arguments become, the more absolutist become the responses to those arguments, and around and around we go, descending into a morass of miscommunication...unfortunately...sadly. It is very hard to respond intelligently and reasonably when one is being fired upon. It is very hard to get your "opponent" to see the intelligence or reason of your response when your "opponent" sees him/herself as also being fired upon.

It also is becoming increasingly clear that the problems we have with the debate, and the rules of the debate, here in I/P, quite closely mirror the problems of the actual conflict itself.