Originally Posted by KSigkid
I think part of the problem, or at least the issue I have when I try to debate your points, is that you drop what I'll call a "debate atomic bomb." Essentially, you'll make your point, and then, in some way, you'll express that there's no other side of the argument, and that your statement should stand as the definitive last word. If someone tries to disagree with you, you either disparage them, or refuse to engage them in any sort of debate. Now, I know for a fact that you're dealing with some pretty intelligent people in this thread (one of whom, KSigRC, is a friend in real life and whom I know to be an incredibly smart person).
That's not making any judgment on your own intelligence, but it is making a judgment in how you've confronted debate in this thread and others. You don't have to accept their ideas, but if you're going to initiate debate, there has to be a little big of give and take, in an intellectual sense.
I guess my major point is that there are a lot of issues that are open to debate and interpretation. I'm not saying we should "agree to disagree" or any of that garbage, or that we should be changing our own views because someone brought up a contrary point, but if you're going to make a statement in a public forum, you have to be ready for the fact that there are intelligent and reasonable counterarguments out there. You can't just scream at the top of your lungs "This is how I feel, and that's the end of it."
Jumping off of what Sensuret said earlier, there are a bunch of smart people on this site (GeekyPenguin, Sensuret, DrPhil, nittanyalum, MysticCat, to name a few) who I know I don't agree with on every issue, or even on most issues. I know that I'm probably not going to change their views on most things, and their not going to change my views on most things. Yet, I respect the fact that they've obviously thought a lot about the issues, and that they can come at it in both an academic sense and a "real-world" sense.
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