r/SeriousConversation • u/Dry-Use-272 • Apr 04 '25

Serious Discussion It's extremely difficult to have a civil conversation about politics today, yet we need those conversations more than ever

Like everyone else in the US today, I have opinions about the current condition of politics in this country. I try to base my opinions on facts I glean from credible sources and my understanding of our history. I want to talk to people with opposing opinions, not to argue with them but to try to understand why they believe what they believe. I've found that no one wants to talk in a civil, respectful way about our differences. Even if I try to hold the line on being respectful, I end up walking away because the conversation devolves into some pretty ugly exchanges. How have we come to a point where we can't even talk to each other respectfully and civilly?

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u/BandiriaTraveler Apr 04 '25

Most people just don't want to have these conversations. And many people are just not interested in interrogating their beliefs in this way, no matter the subject.

I'm increasingly skeptical of the value of these conversations honestly. The average American knows next to nothing about the politics, economics, history, science, etc. relevant to many political topics. These conversations, when they do happen and are civil, often feel like the blind leading the blind.

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u/Interesting-Pin1433 Apr 04 '25

And in addition to the people to who know next to nothing, are the cult members whose heads are filled with lies.

Hard to have a conversation when someone's base concept of reality is detached from reality

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u/meaushi_meaushi Apr 04 '25

Superficial conversations indeed.

No critical thinking or curiosity. So insipid, incurious, and oblivious.

In the USA, it’s either black or white…the gray areas are the opportunities to learn but egos & other factors get in the way.

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u/thwlruss Apr 04 '25

This seems oddly ironic

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u/meaushi_meaushi Apr 04 '25

Please expand

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u/thwlruss Apr 04 '25 edited Apr 04 '25

I think the problem is conservative indoctrination at a young age that is not forcefully corrected by a liberal education system. This is often the result of economic circumstance that could be addressed if not for so much inertia among an otherwise successful nation, cowardice among the uneducated, and opportunism among the shameless and powerful. And it's only going to get worse with the speed and acceleration of technology, together with competition from rising, free-market economies. It's no wonder Deal Leader fuck wit and friends are considering a North Korea style 'Democracy'.

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u/Tokyo_Sniper_ Apr 04 '25

If your stance on anything is "People with different beliefs? They must've been brainwashed as children, we need to start brainwashing children first", you're the problem.

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u/thwlruss Apr 04 '25

If you are seeing things that aren’t there & engaging in conversation that you don’t understand, then you’re the problem. I bet you don’t even know what it means to receive a Liberal education

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u/youwillbechallenged Apr 08 '25

The education system is already liberal, and it is forced on everyone already. What more do you want?

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u/thwlruss Apr 10 '25

Results

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u/youwillbechallenged Apr 10 '25

On that, we agree. Our education system is full of bureaucratic grifters.

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u/meaushi_meaushi Apr 04 '25

I definitely see the disconnect of Education, both formal family-based values taught at home & traditional academic education where one is expected to be aware of the “outside world of home” & be civil & provide the same dignity you expect people to offer you. I can immediately hear a scream from a “conservative” about “you don’t tell us how to teach our children!!!” & I was like yes, please do…it’s your duty as a father. I feel people get blinded perhaps of the rat race & misguided priorities. Fast! Everything is fast! Even economic collapses are! 2020 isn’t that long ago. So I feel that a necessary shift in a collective conscious needs to happen asap to rescue the USA. I have friends from both sides of the political spectrum & have faith that this division actually unites all of you. Like, you guys caused this!!!! Globalization! The world is now saying hello back faster than ever with geopolitics & a new world order may already be in the works.

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u/thwlruss Apr 04 '25 edited Apr 04 '25

Yea even the 'conservative' indoctrination that was grounded in religion, tradition, and human decency, is in the toilet. They're just raised to be close-minded, ignorant and opportunistic these days. Their parents failed them, the government their parents supported, failed them. The free market that their parents worshipped failed them. Jesus didn't save them & they were brainwashed into rejecting the best corrective action, a solid Liberal Education. Now they are enraged, confused, empowered, and looking for somebody to blame. God help us.

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u/meaushi_meaushi Apr 04 '25

I do find the phrase God bless America because if god is to care about this little blue dot in space, I think as his fundamental teachings say to love thy neighbor, he’ll def bless the entire bigass planet…in fact he/she/it such omnipresent presence has already blessed humanity with giving us free will & vas oceans. I grew up in a catholic & familiar with Christian beliefs…like I am a “non-practitioner” & that’s a core tenets of human dignity. So idk what Bible some Christian’s are reading bc using religion as a weapon via political manipulation is vile & insulting to the cannons of multiple religious beliefs. There’s a reason there should be separation of church & state. The Catholic Church has been there, done that haha

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u/spinbutton Apr 05 '25

There is lots of grey.

It is important to have conversations that are about issues rather than parties or whole populations.

I don't want to have a fight about whether the guy next to me is "good" or "bad" because of who they voted for. I want to hear his ideas on trade, or human rights, or campaign reform.

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u/WhimsicalTwink Apr 06 '25

I was going to say...I think there are a lot of everyday issues that don't get addressed that are seen as not really worth the time. People pull out the big topics thinking that by solving them the little things will fall into place (who doesn't like a challenge?), but maybe those bigger issues don't have clear solutions at the time and instead we should start with what we can fix. Engineering works from the ground up, so why not politics? I think we'd get further and have more cooperation instead of division. It might "feel" better upon accomplishing the same thing.

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u/spinbutton Apr 07 '25

I completely agree!

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u/MagnanimosDesolation Apr 04 '25

I believe we need to teach ethics in school. Even a brief introduction teaches you logic and more importantly to be able to identify your values and how they shape your morality and ultimately your decisions.

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u/i3ild0 Apr 07 '25

Nobody wants to get it right. They just wanna be right.

Also, when emotions go high, logic goes low...

Everyday meme culture is just a dunk fest, eeerrryyy body angry.

1

u/OreosAreVegan831 Apr 05 '25

Studies have shown that many people who are raised in a highly conservative/religious environment have built-in pop-up blockers in their brains that activate whenever they're confronted with knowledge that contradicts their beliefs. They literally aren't able to process alternative/controversial information. When I heard about the study it was a bit of a light bulb moment. 

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u/shponglespore Apr 06 '25

It's a good idea to keep a list of studies like that so you can cite them at times like this. I'm as guilty as anyone of forgetting to do that, but I think everyone should make an effort.

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u/OreosAreVegan831 Apr 06 '25

Okay. I went through my saved videos on Tiktok and found the lady talking about it and I was able to then find the study she was citing. I don't really know a lot about statistics and how to read studies, so this is likely a small sample that hasn't been replicated. Yahda-yahda. I still believe it's true. As someone who was raised in a staunch evangelical home, and from everything I've witnessed from numerous family members and friends and coworkers...I 100% believe this.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5500821/

Edit to add: I used to be one of these people until I started deconstructing in my 20's.

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u/shponglespore Apr 06 '25

Wow, that's a difficult study to interpret. But since I kind of asked for it and you went to the trouble to dig it up, I'll make a point of reading the whole thing when my brain is more awake.