Here's an example of our intractable polarization.

[LAS14]

I like to try to see things from the point of view of the right. Looking for possible points of common ground. I have discovered some more of those kinds of things in the last few weeks, but I know there's no place to discuss them. Certainly not on DU. Is there another place? Does anyone wish we could have such conversations here?

[BoRaGard]

1. Maybe petition the admins for a CommonGround forum?

[LAS14]

2. What a good idea! How does one petition the Admins? A DU Mail to Earl?? nt

[Prairie Gates]

3. Oh for God's sake

[LAS14]

4. Is there an emoji for "See what I mean?" nt

[stopdiggin]

8. discussion about 'common ground' - or even its potential or existance? - on certain topic/issues

doesn't seem like such a reach ...

(although, granted, I'll allow that some might take the OP as outright jape and subterfuge - playing the innocent, wasting our time. I, on the other hand did not, did not get that vibe.)

[J_William_Ryan]

5. "Looking for possible points of common ground."

Such as?

[rzemanfl]

6. Maybe us on it and them

under it?

[stopdiggin]

14. health care? tax breaks for the 1%? schools? policing?

if you actually talk to people - the list is fairly long ...
(not sure if that means DU is the place for it .. )

[SocialDemocrat61]

21. Such as when Neville Chamberlain found common ground with Hitler

That all worked out. Right?

[BigMin28]

9. I live in Texas

There is no common ground with people that believe we are evil, godless monsters. They do and say things that harm us all, just to own the libs. Remember the Fuck your Feelings shirts? Or the I rather be red than a Democrat slogans. But yet, once again, we are the ones expected to find common ground where none genuinely exists.

[MineralMan]

10. Why? The "Right's" point of view is not concealed.

I don't find any common ground with that point of view on anything. You can discuss it here, if you like, but if you try to tell us that the right is right about things, you're going to get serious blowback here on DU.

If you want to praise the right wing's attitudes, you can go sign up on Lies Social or some other right wing site.

I'm very surprised to see that you are finding a dilemma, frankly. But, maybe not.

[LAS14]

24. Such generalization doesn't lead anywhere good. nt

[MineralMan]

28. OK, so where are you planning to lead us?

So far, you have not discussed anything specific at all. When you do, I will gladly respond. If you write in generalities, all I can do is reply with generalities. It works both ways, exactly the same.

[taxi]

11. A How Not to be a Horrible Person forum sounds like a starting place, but

such a place would only attract right wingers wanting to sharpen their targeting skills on unsuspecting democrats.

[hunter]

12. Wouldn't that be the "Way Forward" forum?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1324

[Bettie]

13. What is the example of an issue

where you can see common ground between the "right" and DU?

Just curious...you gave no examples of topics you'd like to discuss that are "not allowed" here.

[haele]

43. Problem is, the Right has been taken over by a Cult.

Turn off the propoganda firehose of reinforced lies from the Troll Farms, re-introduce critical thinking and logic, rhetoric,and recognition of fallacies into schools at an early age - and maybe, just maybe, common ground topics can be discussed.
Also, All sides have to be willing to listen and address the arguments rather than emote over the arguments
And remember, social group privilege is a real thing. Emotional People with it feel threatened when asked to share. And that especially includes those who use the hierarchy within that privileged group to position themselves over the out groups beneath them. A spouse of a successful businessman or political leader will put up with a lot of personal or ideological restrictions other people wouldn't just to have the leftover "prince/princess" benefits they feel entitled to.

Until you get rid of the propaganda and the cult entitlement, you aren't going to find common ground with the Right. You're always going to be the bad guy, the thief of their privilege.

[SocialDemocrat61]

15. How do you find common ground

with an ideology based on intolerance, bigotry, greed and lies?

[leftstreet]

16. Do you mean economic issues?

Those are certainly discussed here

[Quiet Em]

17. DU has a clear set of rules

all grounded in supporting Democrats. We all agreed to the terms of service when we joined.

DU is not the place to have conversations about the point of view of the right.

There is no lack of options for you to find such conversations. You can find them on X, Bluesky, Facebook, Threads, Reddit, etc.

[mr715]

18. What are you talking about?

Like -- what issue do you think is being chilled?

[usonian]

19. There is a deep "values" gap.

Last edited Sun Sep 21, 2025, 03:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Certain values are inherent in all of us (believe it or not) such as fairness and compassion. Sympathy is in fact wired into our nervous systems except among a few who lack such wiring.

And that's the point. Those people hijack others' minds by flooding the limbic system ( "fight or flight" ) with fear, uncertainty and doubt, and override both the sympathetic and rational processes (This is highly simplified)

And they manipulate them like sock puppets.

The rational point is that they are losers, conned into thinking they are winners.

Hate is not happiness, and that rewiring of neurons is damn hard to undo.

To seek first to blame rather than process is the mental shortcut the controllers desire.

Now, before psych grads flame me, (come on, I can see it coming), just correct. I'm a physics grad, not a psych grad and whatever I learned is a survival tool that has kept me alive for a long time.

A difference in values is the root cause and hard to change. Most people need a flash of blinding light on the road to Damascus. Or a trip to the municipality of "rock bottom" to see how they were played.

[Prairie_Seagull]

20. On demestic issues, I don't see it.

Hard to see anything economic. Foreign policy,,, maybe?

IMO

[betsuni]

22. I'm reading a book by a journalist on polarization but know if quotes from it were posted here the

topic wouldn't be discussed, it'd be that they hate the author. I guess his big sin this year was to talk to a right-winger or be a centrist or something. One of the ways to disrupt discussion, the long boring pointless kill the messenger threads.

[Bravo Duck]

23. What you're looking for.

http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php

Both sides vigorously defending their positions. It’s pretty rare for any common ground to be found. People are mostly just talking past each other. Here, there and everywhere.

[LAS14]

26. Sorry - I meant this as a reply to the thread, not to an individual. nt

[Arazi]

29. Virtually every late night comedian is college educated

From Johnny Carson, Jay Leno to Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and Kimmel etc.

It doesn’t surprise me in the least that the comedians and their audiences are well educated and that those who dislike it are not.

There ARE far right conservative comedians - Tony Hinchcliffe, Theo Von, Dave Portnoy etc. I’m 1000% certain that if they were funny enough and capable of bringing butts into seats and eyeballs to the tv, they’d be the late night stars like the others.

[Skittles]

38. I honestly cannot see finding "common ground" with nazis

and as far as I am concerned, anyone who sees ANY value in Donald Fucking Trump may as well be a nazi

[chowder66]

25. They voted for a felon and sexual abuser. Some of them are drifting away from Trump on their own.

[LAS14]

27. In reply to requests for examples.

I don't know if this would lead to common ground, but I was educated to what it must look like for a conservative/Republican to look at MSM late night TV. As one talking head observed, back in the day of Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, we could all watch the same shows. Now it really is the case that commedians on MSM are left leaning.

Maybe sympathize with their position?

[Arazi]

30. As I replied elsewhere - there are far right conservative comedians

If they were capable of bringing late night audiences, they’d be on.

TV producers and owners don’t give a shit if their late night folks are R or D.

They want ratings and $$

[Keepthesoulalive]

31. Sympathize with what position?

Perhaps you are uncomfortable with confrontation and you want to have a meaningful and constructive conversation with and about trump and his minions. I am curious as to how that would work.

[mr715]

35. It isn't a position, I don't think

It is just that people that are funny, cultured, clear and articulate tend to be liberals.

The left has a monopoly on music, art, film, literature, comedy, theater, etc. etc.

There are certainly conservative performers, but they tend to, well, suck.

So again I don't really understand what there is to sympathize with. That they have no good comics?

[LAS14]

39. Back in the day of Carson, Paar and Leno, the late night...

...comedians were just as smart, but they couldn't be counted on to zero in on the right. Could be, though, that the right wasn't such a ripe target.

[mr715]

42. Personally, I don't like Leno.

The point you are making, I think, is a soft "liberal media" argument that we (the left) should attempt to understand to better comprehend how to win coalitions long term. Am I correct in this?

My response, though, is actually a pretty conservatively coded one -- the reason why "liberal" voices outnumber others during late night is because those are elite spots and the best comics are liberals.

The reason Harvard is liberal is because the smartest, most intellectually curious, the most creative in the country (world) are generally progressive. They are wired that way. They do not have a fear response when encountering something new.

The reason why the few are successful sometimes comes down to talent. When all your talent skews to one political ideology, I think it is important to recognize the pattern. Reality seems to have a liberal bias.

Conservatives can watch Gutfield. They have Kill Tony. They have about 75% of Joe Rogan.

I appreciate your clarification and your engagement with me.

[haele]

44. There's an old saying that I grew up with...

"Reality has a Liberal Bias".Unt
Innovation is a Liberal trait. Growth or Progress is a Liberal trait. Imagination is a Liberal trait. Anything that expands or surprises tends to be "Liberal" or diverse, without strict rules.
Constraint is an Autocratic trait. Bullying and Enforcement are Autocratic traits. Anything that confines, creates strict rule sets, or binds to a rigid regulations is Autocratic, or hierarchal.

Any conversation with "The Right", especially the hard Right or hard Left, needs to begin with any weakness to acknowledged positions and agreed upon definitions on what the subject is supposed to be about.

[Prairie Gates]

36. I didn't think this thread could get more embarrassing

Good grief.

[JI7]

37. Really ? this is the example you have that you think deserves

a forum ?

[Sneederbunk]

32. Most of us see the rw pov only too well.

[Arazi]

33. And/or have MAGAt family who love bringing up RW bullshit every chance they get 🤬

[usonian]

34. People who play that cultist blame game

are propping up their emptiness by projecting their fears, failures and weaknesses onto others.

IMO, a real crutch.

There's no "there" there.

[mercuryblues]

40. That was tried

And did not work. Who remembers Discussionist?

[Johnny2X2X]

41. Genocide

Their side wants to kill us, period. Hard to find common ground with people who want to exterminate all 150 million of us American liberals.

[LAS14]

45. That's a ridiculous generalization. Just ridiculous. nt