TID: Mystic BBS 1.12 A48
MSGID: 1:226/44 4df050df
REPLY: 1:135/250@fidonet 695ce172
TZUTC: -0500
On 06 Jan 2026, Brent Hendricks said the following...
 
 BH> Why don't we stop with the "left vs. right" narritive?

Man, until today, I've done a pretty good job of steering clear of this echo
for a while... *lurk lurk lurk*

Because the media won't let us. And the political machine won't let the media
stop pushing it.

And it's a damn shame, because behind all the "bleeding hearts" and under all
the "red caps" are typically some decent people who would otherwise be fully
capable of sitting down and having a salient conversation about how to solve
problems and make the world better.

Unfortunately, emotions are more reliable than reason.

 BH> [...] far right, far left, far right, futher left, further right. It now
 BH> become a huge pendulum whos momentum is taking more and more unity and
 BH> creating more and more division each swing.  The only people bennifiting
 BH> from this are the rich elite who are raking in obscene record profits
 BH> while we fight amongst ourself.

That pendulum is something I've been watching over the past decade or so as
well. Rather than finding some sort of equilibrium, it's more like a resonant
driving force on both sides, increasing the amplitude with each swing. It's
pretty gross.

I personally think you can blame the AWS NextGen Stats you see during NFL
games. Well, okay, not that specifically, but we've figured out what we can
feed the teeming masses that will get them off the "moderate fence" and get
them to align with a side.

In the days of old, we were simply mild-mannered swing voters or independents.
Now? We're like friggin' Bitcoin. There's an algorithm or a formula or a plan
to get us locked into a certain worldview. The downer is, it's been working.

The whole landscape is just so incredibly vitriolic and destructive.

I miss the days of having meaningful (even heated) -- yet RESPECTFUL --
discourse with people of differing opinions. It brought out the better in me,
for sure. Being secure enough with yourself to say, "Hey, that's a good point.
I need to reconsider my position..." That appears to be a lost art. It's all
ad hominems, straw men, cherry picking, red herrings, and -- bringing it back
to your original point...

The False Dilemma.

There can be only two choices. Choices... parties... whatever.

Sigh.

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friend. I think I made your
acquaintance over on a ham radio echo. Hope to chat more in the future.

RS

... The secret of getting ahead is mastering the guillotine.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/32)
 * Origin: The Arena BBS ú netasylum.com:2323 (1:226/44)
SEEN-BY: 19/25 33 38 41 42 105/81 106/201 987 124/5016 128/187 129/14
SEEN-BY: 129/305 130/330 153/7715 154/110 218/700 226/30 227/114 229/110
SEEN-BY: 229/112 134 206 275 300 307 317 400 426 428 470 700 705 266/512
SEEN-BY: 280/464 291/111 292/854 320/219 322/757 342/200 387/18 25
SEEN-BY: 396/45 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 5075/35
PATH: 226/44 154/10 280/464 396/45 229/426