Each of us has a choice in our life. We can succumb to the polarization that sets us aginst each other, or seek to find a commonality between all men. It's easy to see the effects of polarization in the world today. Hatred and violence permeate the news. Extremists in the Arab World spew hatred toward the West. Some American and British soldiers commit attrocities against Arab prisoners. In the United States, political battle lines are drawn with no prisoners taken and no quarter shown. The lust for power blinds many elected officials to the needs of the people they purport to serve. Extremists within the Christian religion preach their message of exclusion and judgment of those who dare disagree with them, whether they be Christian or Atheist. The rich draw their battle lines against the poor and police are caught on video tape beating poor, unarmed blacks to the verge of death. These are the fruits of polarization: demonizing those who do not agree with you.
In recent months, I've seen that same polarization occuring here in Mudcat and it leaves me very heavy-hearted. It has become near-impossible to carry on a reasonable conversation in here because there is so little respect for those who don't agree with the often judgmental and confrontational titles of threads. The more offensive and confrontational the title, the longer the thread grows. People seem to get swept up in the excitement of a fight, like little kids on a playground shouting "fight, fight!" as soon as an altercation starts. Less confrontational titles dissapear off the bottom of the screen after a few posts. But each of us has a choice. We can seek to understand and respect each other and show compassion. The truth is, each of us has gone through our own private Hell in our lives, and whatever our differences, we all need encouragement and love. We can choose to respect each other and build on our common humanity. I read the observation that Mudcat only reflects our society. I do not intend to reflect our society. As long as we accept the polarization that sets people against each other, nothing will change. We do not have to agree to be civil. We do not have to like each other to be respectful of each other. Each of us can change. I am trying my best to do that. Ironically, the person on the Cat who has shown the greatest change is the much-reviled Martin Gibson. And I applaud him for that. I applaud Bill D for his inherent fairness, and Little Hawk for always seeking to be a peace maker. They, ande many others set an example for me.