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[Childers.Paula AT epamail.epa.gov]

Phil said:
> Just to add to this...  I should say that I think this is a wonderful
> discussion.  Especially because everybody has made some very
interesting
> points, and we've all stayed civil.  No resorting to name-calling or
> personal attacks, or any pettiness.

Agreed, wholeheartedly. It's been an interesting discussion, and one
that has certainly made me exercise the "what exactly do I think is
essential to good governance" portion of my brain. Haven't worked it
that hard since PoliSci classes.

> It's nice that we can have a discussion about fundamental issues
> of how society should function without arguing.  Of course being
> in the minority, and facing something of a "hostile crowd" I guess
> I should be especially glad! :-)

In fact, I appreciate that you don't have the exact same viewpoint as
the Standard INW Flaming Liberal. And although I don't necessarily agree
with everything you say, I think you might be surprised to see how much
I would agree with you on certain specific issues.

> And one could also ask if I expect to change the minds of anyone
> else about *their* political belief system.  And my answer to that
> is just this: in conversations of this nature, all I really hope
> for is to provoke discussion and thought about these issues and
> hopefully represent my beliefs in a way that might cause
> an individual to at least stop and ask themselves "Well, wait
> a minute, is there any merit to this?"

Agreed, also. Maybe neither one of us is going to change our minds
wholly, but rational open debate does serve a greater purpose, that of
creating an atmosphere of involvement and questioning, which i do think
is essential to citizenship/governance. Deteriorating into flame wars
doesnt get real facts in front of people - everybody just tunes out the
people yelling at each other. That's why I hate Fox News so much - it's
not because they are conservative, but because they are so screamingly
one-sided about it (regardless of their motto).

Thanks for the conversation!
Paula