Apolitical Staples

I enjoy reading and commenting on this blog because it appears to be almost unique in this blogroll in not being a reliable pom-pom waving government supporter.

It is refreshing to find a forum where there remains the possibility of an intelligent, objective, and civil debate. I also appreciate that the author properly attributes his sources, and attempts to include some balance.

I wish there was a similar site on the left. I also wish the Blue Jays had a better Manager, but I digress.

But because they never actually engage each other, it’s not a war at all - it’s just two sides endlessly rallying the troops.

Wow, that’s almost profound.

As far as bloggers go, I think the real problem is that most of us fall into two general categories: people who are willing to argue with other bloggers, but only in ways that involve namecalling, and people who prefer to stick to their own kind so as to avoid the namecalling. There seem to be very few who are willing to say what amounts to: “I think you’re wrong, but that doesn’t make me despise you.” It’s such a failing of this medium.

cb,

I wish there was a similar site on the left.

smiles sweetly at cb Have you looked?

Leftie sites where you won’t get shouted down:

Idealistic Pragmatist

Here’s my list of leftie sites that make for good comment-based discussions (from my right-of-center viewpoint):

Crawl Across the Ocean (http://crawlacrosstheocean.blogspot.com/) Odd Thoughts (http://oddthoughts.ca) Sinister Thoughts (Idealistic Pragmatist)

And of course Idealistic Pragmatist herself ;)

Stageleft would be good if “ti-guy” wasn’t such an idiot - he ruins plenty of threads IMHO.

That should get you started - but there are a lot more goodies out there. Here’s a bonus centrist blogger:

Bow James Bow (http://www.bowjamesbow.com)

Shouldn’t CalgaryGrit get a nod? I haven’t hung out that much there lately, too busy, but assume that he is still pretty good.

Mr. Radwanski should have stuck with blogs exclusively, unfortunately he did a drive by shooting of talk radio and Fox cable news. His political background (or his fathers)is showing - Fox is a offered on cable or sat. at a premium price - whereas everyone is forced to receive CBC whetherthey want it or not.

it’s shocking that you link to girl on the right and small dead animals. have you read the commentary at either blog much? there’s alot of very scary stuff to be found daily.

Thanks, Andrew. I agree with you on the others, too, though I think of Odd Thoughts and CATO as non-partisan blogs. Kevin of Odd Thoughts in particular would probably be surprised to be labeled a leftie (though not offended).

-J

Greg, this is a great post. You have made several good points, notably differentiating between civilized debate and personal attacks.

Also, your point that it is a big blogroll and nobody could possibly read everything on it is also important. Therefore Adam’s comments about BT’s being comprised of “hundreds of like-minded blogs with similar obsessions (the liberal media, pacifists, etc.) to the one founds south of the border” is bogus. Not only that, but the content and slant of particular blogs within the blogroll are quite often diametrically opposed.

But just like the party, it’s a big tent and we all try to respect each others’ opinions, even if we don’t always agree.

As far as bloggers go, I think the real problem is that most of us fall into two general categories: people who are willing to argue with other bloggers, but only in ways that involve namecalling, and people who prefer to stick to their own kind so as to avoid the namecalling. There seem to be very few who are willing to say what amounts to: “I think you’re wrong, but that doesn’t make me despise you.” It’s such a failing of this medium.

Idealist Pragmatist has nailed it.

The idea that blogs are echo chambers is ridiculous. I enjoy the Canadian Blog Exchange precisely because I get to see what others are posting (even if I don’t necessarily click on the links).

Suzanne, yes, Ideal Pragmatist has captured what I find to be the most frustrating aspect of blogging. Too often when an opponent is cornered, they start yelling “bigot” or taking personal swipes at you as a person.

To me it demonstrates that they ran out of ammunition. However, any further debate is futile at that point.

BTW, I linked to this post. :)

I wouldn’t go so far as to say no war goes on at all. Radwanski must not be picking the right blog comments to read or something. I may have far more Blogging Tories rolls in my RSS aggregator but I have a few dozen left or center blogs as well. I liken it to reading a bit of evil so I know what the good really means. hehehe. Oops, was that comment warlike??

It’s just getting too sweet here, so:

centrist n. - a person of disciplined intellect, to whom set notions are anathema, and compromise is the highest good, provided it does not result in any commonly accepted principle not subject to compromise. In making a decision, the centrist is typically not swayed by extraneous considerations such as logic or morality.

civil adj. 1. veiled, underhanded, disingenuous, engendering animus; 2. possessing venom, lethal, toxic. Civil discourse is the practice of defending the indefensible while smiling. ant: truthful

Your definition of centrist isn’t complete. It can also mean somebody who has the principle of an open mind, and is willing to be convinced of the merits of a position by people around him willing to take the time to advocate their position. It can mean somebody who realizes that nobody has a monopoly on the truth.