TID: Mystic BBS 1.12 A48   
   MSGID: 1:226/44 4df050df   
   REPLY: 1:135/250@fidonet 695ce172   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   On 06 Jan 2026, Brent Hendricks said the following...   
       
    BH> Why don't we stop with the "left vs. right" narritive?   
      
   Man, until today, I've done a pretty good job of steering clear of this echo   
   for a while... *lurk lurk lurk*   
      
   Because the media won't let us. And the political machine won't let the media   
   stop pushing it.   
      
   And it's a damn shame, because behind all the "bleeding hearts" and under all   
   the "red caps" are typically some decent people who would otherwise be fully   
   capable of sitting down and having a salient conversation about how to solve   
   problems and make the world better.   
      
   Unfortunately, emotions are more reliable than reason.   
      
    BH> [...] far right, far left, far right, futher left, further right. It now   
    BH> become a huge pendulum whos momentum is taking more and more unity and   
    BH> creating more and more division each swing.  The only people bennifiting   
    BH> from this are the rich elite who are raking in obscene record profits   
    BH> while we fight amongst ourself.   
      
   That pendulum is something I've been watching over the past decade or so as   
   well. Rather than finding some sort of equilibrium, it's more like a resonant   
   driving force on both sides, increasing the amplitude with each swing. It's   
   pretty gross.   
      
   I personally think you can blame the AWS NextGen Stats you see during NFL   
   games. Well, okay, not that specifically, but we've figured out what we can   
   feed the teeming masses that will get them off the "moderate fence" and get   
   them to align with a side.   
      
   In the days of old, we were simply mild-mannered swing voters or independents.   
   Now? We're like friggin' Bitcoin. There's an algorithm or a formula or a plan   
   to get us locked into a certain worldview. The downer is, it's been working.   
      
   The whole landscape is just so incredibly vitriolic and destructive.   
      
   I miss the days of having meaningful (even heated) -- yet RESPECTFUL --   
   discourse with people of differing opinions. It brought out the better in me,   
   for sure. Being secure enough with yourself to say, "Hey, that's a good point.   
   I need to reconsider my position..." That appears to be a lost art. It's all   
   ad hominems, straw men, cherry picking, red herrings, and -- bringing it back   
   to your original point...   
      
   The False Dilemma.   
      
   There can be only two choices. Choices... parties... whatever.   
      
   Sigh.   
      
   Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friend. I think I made your   
   acquaintance over on a ham radio echo. Hope to chat more in the future.   
      
   RS   
      
   ... The secret of getting ahead is mastering the guillotine.   
      
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