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The problem with today's politics and society in general is ...

 
Sheriff
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Most people don't want to be informed, they want to be offended/angry/polarized about something, perhaps anything. As summed up well by Scott Kurtz in his comic PVP:



 
Bartender
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I reckon it's more the case that people don't want to have to think for themselves, so everything's packaged into easily digestible soundbites. And a soundbite has much more impact if it's emotive, so you end up with serious issues being discussed in terms of superficial slogans and cheap dog-whistle rhetoric. It's a lot easier for politicians too, if they can just coast through a few soundbites instead of having to address the real complexities of whatever issue they're supposed to be discussing. As ever, I guess we get the politicians and media we deserve.
 
chris webster
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And another thing...

One of the interesting observations about the recent Scottish independence referendum was that both sides felt the Scottish public and society at large had really engaged seriously in the debate - indeed they often criticised politicians for resorting to cheap slogans and fear tactics instead. So maybe I'm wrong: it's not that people don't want to think for themselves, but that our politicians and media don't want us to think for ourselves!
 
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Two ideas:

1 - At this point in time, my default assumption (in the US), is that ALL politicians are "on the take", and that we no longer have a capitalist system we now have a "lobbyist" system... sigh...

2 - But there might be hope! I'd like to encourage everyone to learn just three of the most common forms of fallacy arguments (the trailboss will be so proud):

a. the strawman argument: Person A claims X, and Person B responds by saying that Person A claimed Y, and arguing against Y. For example, person A says: "Apostasy should not be a crime." And person B responds: "You're criticizing a billion Muslims, and you're a racist."
b. the false dilemma: Person A claims that only two outcomes are possible, and ignores all the other possible outcomes. For example "If you vote for GMO labeling, food prices will go up."
c. the ad hominem: Person A attacks his opponent, not his opponent's idea. For example "Your idea is bad because you got a divorce."

If you commit to never USING these fallacies, you'll also start spotting when other people use them, and perhaps you'll even start doing something about politicians and reporters who use these fallacies all the time.
 
Rancher
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Two more possibilities: counter factuals and non sequiturs.
 
Bert Bates
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Right, there are many fallacies!

But if could only pick a handful to learn how to spot, which ones are most prevalent? Which ones would help the general population the most?
 
Marshal
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The commonest one I notice isn't exactly a fallacy, it's the case where you ask a politician a question and they provide the answer to their own question rather than your question. It would help people if they could recognize that situation.
 
Bert Bates
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Paul,

Sounds like a type of strawman.
 
chris webster
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Bert Bates wrote:Paul,
Sounds like a type of strawman.


Here you go...



Oh, wait a minute...
 
Bear Bibeault
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I'd say that one of the worst - and most absurd - things about modern politics is that in a digital world, we've become digital people.

Instead of wanting to use digital resources to expand our analog horizons, we contract our horizons to simple on/off, yes/no. You're either With Me or you're With the Enemy. There can be no compromise. Victory must be total. The enemy must be exterminated. No room for differences of opinion, no pity for those who do not agree. Burn them at the stake and then turn you your favorite "fair and balanced" news outlet so that you'll be among people who, like you, think correctly. Any deviation and you're a RINO/DINO and a heretic. In our own way, we're just as savage as if we took literal swords into the halls of government with the intent of hacking off heads.

One of the things that this over-simplification does is provide a small simple set strings and levers that make us all - both voters and politicians - more easy to manipulate. You can duckspeak all day long and never have to worry about needing to think for yourself. You can use the Internet to pull up whatever facts and numbers "prove" that you're unquestionably right. And, if you're cynical enough, you can make others dance the way you like just by pressing the right buttons.

It's a very impoverished world when we should be experiencing an era of plenty. No colors, no music, not even any shades of gray. It's a way of thinking that was more appropriate back when we were all simple farmers and herdsmen and the least mistake could starve the tribe/village, but you'd think we'd have outgrown it.
 
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I'm reading the book "Wiser" by Cass R. Sunstein - very interesting take on what can make a group less than the sum of its parts. I think this has a lot to do with what's happening with politics and society today. Seems like many people are just giving in to their emotions and ignoring data and information. When presented with information that contradicts their opinions, people still don't budge and blame "conspiracies" and/or greed. It's quite ironic in many cases actually because it could be argued that their own misguided stances are really backed and promoted by self-serving interests.
 
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