Do Posters on CAF Truly Want to Understand Each Other?

[meltzerboy2]

I am NOT a Trump supporter, but neither am I a supporter of ANY of the current Democratic nominees. This is, in fact, the very first presidential election (and I have been a voter for nearly 50 years) in which I do not have a candidate I wish to vote for. Hopefully, that will change in the months before the election.

One thing, however, I can say for Trump is that he is not a warmonger. So far, we have not gotten into any major war but that could change (I pray not). Hillary Clinton, whom I voted for in 2016, might very well have gotten us into another war. So, in a perverse sense, Trump’s brand of nationalism (which I do not admire) has kept our country more focused on itself rather than on nation-building and that sort of foreign policy, which GWB and Obama advocated.

 

[Servant31]

I have made the mistake of posing serious questions on CAF. Don’t get me wrong I think CAF has a lot to offer in terms of knowledge base and wisdom. It’s the reason I still come here occasionally. However I’ve consistently seen the most aggressive and quite frankly defensive people on these forums lambaste others over pretty serious honest questions. If it were one or two threads it wouldn’t mean much…it’s the internet after all. But it’s thread after thread. And usually it’s the same group of aggressives flagging everything under the sun for removal that disagrees with them. Somehow they get their way… ?
Still don’t get it.

So, to your question; on average. Unfortunately, no I don’t think people on here do a good job of trying to understand each other.

 

[FiveLinden]

We have a Republic, and not a democracy

Glad we agree.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

Recently, I took a look in there and I want you to know that you are well on the road to being all the things you mentioned. I definitely noticed the change in you before you even posted in this thread.

I credit not only the moderators but also the excellent example set by some of my “opponents” in the debates, such as Ender.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

I want to meet your challenge. I want to understand the other POV. Please give me one example (either why Trump is worse than Clinton or why Britain should stay in the EU) and I will chew on that example and not reply immediately and will reflect and ponder.

Well, considering I don’t think Trump is “worse” than Clinton and I don’t have an opinion one way or the other about whether Britain should stay or remain, I don’t think I can help you very much with the exercise.

There is a critique of the President that I think has some merit, so perhaps this will do?

Some believe that the president lacks a moral compass. He has no firm convictions. They argue that he tends to take up the moral priorities of those whose opinions he respects. In this way, he is a nationalist like Stephen Miller and pro-life like Mike Pence. If this is the case, it would make him vulnerable to manipulation should he decide to trust the wrong person. In this way, the nation is at the mercy of his “gut feeling” about a person’s opinion on an issue, rather than having the benefit of his considered opinion based on the facts.

 

[BartholomewB]

I certainly can. But around here voting for Trump ha been strongly asserted as a religious duty by some.

So has the opposite. “How could any Catholic possibly vote for Trump?” is a question asked quite often on the News forums.

 

[BartholomewB]

More people voted for parties opposed to the Conservative Party in the UK than voted for Conservative candidates.

Of course. With so many parties now represented in the House of Commons, there’s not much chance of any single party getting 50 percent of the vote.

 

[Welshrabbit]

Obviously this is a generalisation, but this is the impression this Brit has of the Democrats across the pond.

Spot on, gov.

 

[dochawk]

I won’t speak to the UK side of it, but in the USA the Electoral College protects against the tyranny of the majority. We have a Republic, and not a democracy for precisely this point.

This.

the US electoral system is supposed to, at times, select the president who had less popular support.

The compromise between the large states and the small states, and differences between the Senate and the house, are fundamental to our system.

And, frankly, I would support Nevada secession if the alternative were losing our senatorial equality (and given the way electores are apportioned, a popular vote cannot be imposed without doing so–and this is the one amendment that requires all states to agree . . . [I suppose, technically, only those whose share of the Senate would be decreased, but that’s most of them])

I am baffled to find myself in a world where I’m agreeing with every word out of Alan Dershowitz’s mouth (err, pen). I don’t think we have anything in common other than a “strong distaste” for Trump and a love of the rule of law and the Constitution. But he’s pretty much the only one with a platform calling for respecting the rule of law even if we don’t like who it protects . . .

 

[Dolphin]

and now Trump has figured out the internet and dominated it with his hilarious memes.

If this is what people are using to vote for the next President, this country is a whole lot worse off than I thought.

Some people seem to enjoy triggering others saying they are either huge Trump supporters knowing some will get mad or others say they are Democrats knowing some will get mad.

Ask yourself why you are on CAF. Is it to grow in holiness or to flaunt your pride and get a rise out of people?

 

[Edmundus1581]

I like the idea of your thread though It’s a good idea, especially to mark a new decade.

Well said!

 

[jack63]

Just to be factual for a moment: more people voted for Clinton than Trump.

However, neither Trump nor Clinton received the majority.

Approximately 5% voted for third parties. Most of the 5% voted for candidates that would usually be associated with republicans. For example the former republican governor of New Mexico (Gary Johnson) who ran as a libertarian and that conservative from Utah (McMullin). Many people who might have usually voted republican voted for a 3rd party out of anger with Trump.

I’m good with the electoral college. It still gives people a voice. A third party vote for a normally republican candidate acts as a warning to Trump and the Republican Party.

 

[Viki63]

I can’t find the video.

I would like to watch it before commenting, but will just say, I don’t understand how a Catholic can vote democrat when abortion is part of their platform. it’s like voting for a party headed by Molech.

 

[thistle]

Can you understand why people voted Trump?

Because they didn’t know him and he promised the earth. Now people know him and so can kick him out next time.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

I question whether he is a true nationalist

Well, you are certainly entitled to that belief. From the POV I articulated, there would be no argument. They would say that Stephen Miller was the “real” Nationalist while the president is not a “true” nationalist. Instead, he is simply following Miller’s lead.

 

[JoeShlabotnik]

Many Catholics seem to overlook all of Trump’s bad side, solely because he is Pro-Life, or so he says. Interestingly, for most of his life, he was Pro-Choice. I believe Trump is the politician’s politician. He says anything to get elected.

 

[Hodos]

Some do. Some don’t. Sometimes the conversation is still worth it even if the person you are speaking with is not interested in understanding your point, because someone in the wider audience might learn something. Sometimes its not about the person you are speaking with, but about the person who might be listening.

 

[Elizabeth3]

Republicans preach person freedom and personal responsibility, except when it comes to abortion.

Direct killing of an innocent human being should not be a matter of choice by law. Laws are designed to protect the innocent, not sanction their murder. True freedom is about being free to do that which is good.

 

[tomarin]

How about instead of trying to understand each other just acknowledge that it’s very hard to get other people to think the way you do about certain things and start from there?

 

[Emeraldlady]

I was shocked when someone brought the ASP to my attention recently… that Catholics weren’t jumping on this wonderful platform in droves! If they are genuinely looking for a party to ‘drain the swamp’, this is the one. I think it’s a sign that Catholics have ultimately put their political identity way ahead of their Christian identity. Imagine Brian T. Carroll as President. The world would be intrigued and delighted.