Dear David,

The "mad" King George III said:

" A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me".

Putin feels the same way.

translation: Those who disagree with me are dirty dogs.
davidf,
I gather you didn't like what you read so now I'm a dirty dog ?

Dear Indyvidual,

I don't think you're a dirty dog because you disagree with me. I don't have to adopt your rhetoric. People who disagree with me are people who disagree with me - nothing more. I don't have to say they are hypocritical or devoid of integrity. You are better at insulting people than I am, and you win at that sort of game.

I guess we find comfort among those who agree with us.

I'm not suggesting that we have to always agree but usually
our friends are people with whom we do have something in common.
If we couldn't agree on anything I doubt if we would be
friends for very long.

Dear Foxy,

I was against the Vietnamese War. I once got into an argument with a man who supported it. We wound up completely agreeing on the facts but with different opinions. We parted friends, and that was a satisfying argument.

The sophists who were pre-Socratic Greek philosophers had a technique called Dissoi logoi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissoi_logoi

“Dissoi Logoi, also called dialexeis, is a two-fold argument, which considers each side of an argument in hopes of coming to a deeper truth.”

A Greek demonstrated the technique to a group of Romans. The Romans heard him argue for an opinion. When he started to argue against the opinion he had previously argued for they killed him. I understand their anger. How can anyone honestly argue two sides of a controversial question? I can also understand the sophist. It is valuable to try to consider matters from the other person’s point of view. That can lead to compromise or understanding.

Good arguments are ad rem - to the thing. Bad arguments are ad hominem - to the man or person.

Dear David,

My father-in-law firmly believed that people should only
marry their own kind. From their own cultural background.
He wanted that for his only child. I did meet his
criteria. But in the beginning our relationship was not
a very warm one. He looked at me with suspicion and
thought my views were too progressive on many issues.

Initially I made the mistake of arguing with him. I shouldn't
have. It took quite a few years to let him see that perhaps
I wasn't so bad after all. Eventually, we both became very fond
of each other and would spend hours talking. I learned a lot
from that man. I always respected his opinion.