Applying the Dutton logic, about 1 in 60 Australians will commit a serious enough crime in their lifetime to warrant incarceration, very bad karma. With over 300,000 births per year, should we not bop 5,000 babies on the head at birth to reduce the future crime rate? Pete thinks its a good idea!

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Dear ttbn,

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You wrote :

« … I don't give a stuff about opinions that differ from mine, and it's quite OK for others to feel the same. »

Well said, ttbn ! . I think we all agree on that. Who could ask for more ?

Maybe some come here to proselytize their beliefs and convictions, but I think it is true to say that many, if not most, simply want to express their ideas and exchange with others.

The object of discussion is not so much to agree or disagree but to see things in a different light, gain a broader view and, hopefully, a better understanding of issues of common interest.

As you say, “Disagreeing with … people is not negative …”. Seeing things from a different perspective can be quite enlightening.

Unfortunately, some can't disagree without being disagreeable. It seems to be beyond them !

“The Confessions” of Jean-Jacques Rousseau come to mind :

Book 1 [1712-1728]

I will present myself, whenever the last trumpet shall sound, before the Sovereign Judge with this book in my hand, and loudly proclaim, « Thus have I acted; these were my thoughts; such was I. With equal freedom and veracity have I related what was laudable or wicked, I have concealed no crimes, added no virtues; and if I have sometimes introduced superfluous ornament, it was merely to occupy a void occasioned by defect of memory: I may have supposed that certain, which I only knew to be probable, but have never asserted as truth, a conscious falsehood. Such as I was, I have declared myself; sometimes vile and despicable, at others, virtuous, generous, and sublime; even as Thou hast read my inmost soul: Power Eternal! assemble round Thy throne an innumerable throng of my fellow-mortals, let them listen to my confessions, let them blush at my depravity, let them tremble at my sufferings; let each in his turn expose with equal sincerity the failings, the wanderings of his heart, and if he dare, aver, I was better than that man. »

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Dear Indyvidual,

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You wrote :

« It was only recently that I saw a map showing this land as Judea & Samaria. The word Palestine was nowhere to be seen »
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This brief note and map in the Encyclopædia Britannica should help, Indyvidual :

http://www.britannica.com/place/Samaria-historical-region-Palestine

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Hi ttbn,
"...it is a total waste of time arguing with people whose values are not the same as your own. It's a waste of time for conservatives to argue with socialists; their values are just too different"

Well that means democracy is a waste of time too if all the left will ever do is disagree with the right and vice-versa.

No-one will ever get what they want.
Not one side or the other, it's a recipe where everyone's a loser.

Lose-lose, not win-win.
Because unity is an impossibility, democracy is now just a downward spiral, a race to the bottom.

Well said AC,

That's why in politics the art of compromise is a great asset. Governments do it all the time,they are swayed by both public opinion and necessity, sometimes referred to as pragmatism.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/455630607014984

Is that what the Woke aspire to ?