Why are people incapable of having a civil political conversation?

Question

I have been on here a short time but the one question I asked and the several I have looked at, everyone just starts screaming that everyone else is stupid and starts name calling. Things from "Bush's Assministration" to "Senator Clueless" and even calling me a Neocon before even knowing enough about my politics to even know what side I stand on. Cannot we just have a civilized conversation? Show your points and your sources, don't name call and flame. Seriously. Why can't we?

Answer 1

It isn't that people can't have civil conversations, it is just human nature that if someone disagrees with us, we start yelling.  

Answer 2

Ideologues are people who are conditioned like dogs to respond defensively if they (or their ideas) are 'threatened'.  They have an emotional rather than rational response to your challenging the ideas that were fed to them.  Try taking a bone away from a dog and you get the same response as the dog tries to cling to what is his.

Demagogues know that if they can feed a person certain notions about something (give the doggie a bone), then any later information challenging those notions will be emotionally rejected because a person wants to defend what they already 'know'.

It is hard to defeat emotion with fact and reason.

Answer 3

due to the right wing propagandists

Answer 4

Your question made me reflect on a news program that showed two teachers (of a debate team) cussing, arguing and it even got down to "Mooning" in front of the classmates.

When the debate or discussion stops and you get "emotion" and name calling - there is no discourse and nothing gets resolved.

Answer 5

It's in people's nature to "want to be right."  Especially when people feel so passionately about a subject, if they are confronted by someone with another opinion or if they are told "facts" to which they cannot refute or argue, they get defensive and that can quickly boil over to name-calling, non-sequitur arguments, verbal and even physical altercations.

My best advice is that when you sense someone begin to get edgy about a topic, back off.  Let them have the last word if necessary.  Is it more important for them to be wrong or for you to be right?  If it's the latter, walk away confident in your own beliefs.  Sometimes the sign of a debate winner is the one who decides when it's over.

Answer 6

This is quite an easy question. Now i am a republican, but i cant stand when people argue senselessly about politics. The reason why people always argue about polictics is they both think there rite. They just dont respect each others opinion, An i happen to like both candidates. Well i hope this helped, if not sorry.

Answer 7

Persuasion not put to use is one reason and others the points system as well as not taking time to research.

Answer 8

Most likely because politics is a very strong issue to talk about and is also a sensitive subject for many. I really don't like to talk politics except for those who have similar views because for some reason, people with opposing viewpoints get REALLY offensive.