“From the political angle, I’m trying to be apolitical if you will.  I mean people say, ‘Are you a red state or blue state?’ I say, ‘I’m purple.’ I think there are great ideas on both sides of the aisle, and neither side has cornered the market.”

—   Brad Thor

“From the political angle, I’m trying to be apolitical if you will.  I mean people say, ‘Are you a red state or blue state?’ I say, ‘I’m purple.’ I think there are great ideas on both sides of the aisle, and neither side has cornered the market.”

I was an early adopter" of the Internet. And things were quite different back then. Two of my friends had computers, and I used to visit them and watch them work. They both had PCs and dot-matrix printers.

When I got my first computer (a 386 PC) I knew little about them--but thought since you plugged it in and turned it on it was sort of an appliance-- so we went to the place where we bought appliances-- Sears Roebuck. 

When I finally went onto the Internet (external dial-up modem) I went onto Prodigy and AOL sites.

When I finally went onto the Internet (external dial-up modem) I went onto Prodigy and AOL sites.

That's just a little background into what I wanted to say...

Prodigy and AOL were similar. But the point of my post: back then almost all discussion was not political! People talked about their hobbies, their pets, their families, their vacations. IIRC the most active forums were Cooking...and Sports!

Also, if memory serves, there wasn't even a forum for "Politics". (Those posts would've gone into "News & Current Events"-- but that area was pretty quiet.

In retrospect it seemed that it may never have occurred to many users to discuss their political views online!

In retrospect it seemed that it may never have occurred to many users to discuss their political views online!

Was the country less polarized back then-- I'm not totally sure if we were actually less polarized, or if it was just a case of most people not wanting to discuss their political views publically.

I would say yes we are more polarized. Abortion and gay rights have been very effectively used as wedge issues by the right to demonize those with different viewpoints. We Are Not Going Back!

Back before the internet and social news sites you had to own your political discussion, you were identifiable and you had to stand by your opinions.  These days you can say whatever you want and nobody knows who you really are.  You can be a parody of yourself, and in fact that is exactly what you are.  Very few people identify themselves - an example being a name mentioned in the article above that is in fact the name used by Paul Newman, the protagonist in the movie Hombre.  Buzz is actually the nickname I got when I was 4 years old and have been known by that name all my life by both friends and relatives, but it is not my real name. 

I would say yes we are more polarized.

It seems to me that we are more polarized now-- but I wonder. Sometimes it seems things go back and forth. And I'm not all that familiar with American history before the Civil War (or "The War for the Suppression of Yankee Insolence" as some Southerners call it). 

In fact, now that I think of it-- we were certainly divided ("polarized") leading up to that war-- a long bloody war indeed.

"The War for the Suppression of Yankee Insolence"

AKA "The war Between the States".

These days you can say whatever you want and nobody knows who you really are.  You can be a parody of yourself, and in fact that is exactly what you are.  Very few people identify themselves

A while back there was a cute New Yorker cartoon about that:

On The Internet No One Knows You're a Dog

A while back there was a cute New Yorker cartoon about that:  On The Internet No One Knows You're a Dog

Here's the story about that:

" On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog " is an  adage  and  Internet meme  about  Internet anonymity  which began as a caption to a  cartoon  drawn by  Peter Steiner , published in  The New Yorker  on July 5, 1993.

Steiner had earned between $200,000 and $250,000 by 2013 from its reprinting, by which time it had become the cartoon most reproduced from  The New Yorker .

The original was sold at  auction  for $175,000, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a comic. ^{[7] [8]}

According to  Bob Mankoff , then  The New Yorker 's  cartoon editor, "The cartoon resonated with our wariness about the facile façade that could be thrown up by anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of  html .

While Designer Isaac Mizrahi, who designed the deep plum colored dress worn by First Lady Michelle Obama was most likely motivated by fashion and trends rather than politics, he did delight at George Stephanopoulos’s observation about the color being politically correct:

“It was like the politics of the clothes,” he said. “She was saying, ‘Not left, not right.’ It was kind of like a bipartisan dress. George Stephanopoulos said how interesting it was that she was in a kind of purple-y color, which is a blend of red and blue. Love that.”

Political Purple Meaning? - Sensational Color

he did delight at George Stephanopoulos’s observation about the color being politically correct:

IIRC, long ago (long before the Obamas) it seems I came across two associations with the color Purple.

1. It was mostly associated with "old people" , and mostly worn by. older women.

2. I vaguely remember that some people somehow associated it with "spirituality", but that wasn't as common. 

The Color Purple is a movie due to which Oprah perhaps became famous.  Could purple have become a favourite colour among a certain race of people?

The Color Purple is a movie due to which Oprah perhaps became famous.

Actually I had heard of that one. As I remember it got a lot of praise (from a very creative person I highly respect) but I never did see the actual movie.     

I can't open Wikipedia but I would like to know who you meant.

I can't open Wikipedia but I would like to know who you meant

Robert J. Fritz, January 2010

Robert Jordan Fritz  (born 1943 in  Cambridge, Massachusetts ) is an American author, management consultant, composer, and filmmaker. He is known for his development of  structural dynamics , the study of how structural relationships impact behavior from individuals to organizations. His books, starting with  The Path of Least Resistance , develop the theory and application of structural dynamics and the  creative process . ^[1]

• Fritz, Robert (2007).   Elements: The Writings of Robert Fritz . Newfane Press.   ISBN  978-0-9725536-4-3 .
• Bodaken, Bruce; Fritz, Robert (2006).   The Managerial Moment of Truth: The Essential Step in Helping People Improve Performance . Free Press.   ISBN  978-0-7432-8852-1 .
• Fritz, Robert (2003).   Your Life As Art . Newfane Press.   ISBN  978-0-9725536-0-5 .
• —— (2011).   The Path of Least Resistance for Managers Revised and Expanded Second Edition . Berrett-Koehler.   ISBN  978-0-9725-5366-7 .
• —— (1996).   Corporate Tides:The Inescapable Laws of Organizational Structure . Berrett-Koehler.   ISBN  978-1-881052-88-3 .
• —— (1993).   Creating: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process and How To Use It To Create Anything .   Ballantine Books.   ISBN  978-0-449-90801-3 .
• —— (1989).   Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life . Ballantine Books.   ISBN  978-0-449-90337-7 .

(cont'd from Bibliography)

Media & music

[ edit ]

• Overload   - 2009 feature film (written and directed by Fritz)

Awards :

• Boston International Film Festival   - Indie Spirit Special Recognition Award
• Los Angeles Reel Film Festival   - Honorable Mention
• Honolulu Film Festival   - Aloha Accolade Award for Excellence in Filmmaking
• Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood   - Award of Merit for Narrative Feature
• Accolade Competition   - Award of Merit
• Los Angeles Movie Awards   - Award of Excellence (television), Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, Best Actress

• Creating   - Canadian television series (directed and co-hosted by Fritz)
• Celtic Ladies
• The Little Pinecone   - Audio CD (Story and music by Fritz)
• Elmer's Extraordinary Christmas   - Audio CD (Story and music by Fritz)
• The Top   - Audio CD (Story and music by Fritz)

Okay, your respecting him is understandable.

Awards :

I could say a lot more. Basically he is a creative genius-- musician, composer, most recently I believe he started writing screenplays.

He was fascinated by the creative process-- known intuitively by creators in all media-- and then decided he could create a series of courses teaching those general creative priinciples to people so that they "could create the life they wanted".

I took several of his courses, and taught several for a period of over 5 years:

1. DMA Technologies for Creating - The Basic Course 

2. DMA Technologies for Creating - The Advanced Course

3. The Creating Course

I also took a few other, including "Higher Energies and Intuition" which was a bit different-- Chakra and Aura reading, Developing Intuition, etc. Some other very esoteric stuff...

(I still use the principles I learned in those classes...amongst the most powerful techniques I've learned).

Okay, your respecting him is understandable.

I've also had the good fortune to meet several other people of similar abilities in several other unconventional courses I've taken over the years...(One of the best was developing Psychic abilities...) but this is really getting off topic...apologies to others here.)

I've never reached for those levels.  I may have had lots of varied and special experiences in my life, met many interesting people, so generally my life has not been exceptional - but I'm quite satisfied. 

I've never reached for those levels.

Actually I hadn't meant to imply that my life was so exceptional either. Rather I was just mentioning that I had this incredible teacher-- his life was exceptional-- not mine! (I was grateful for having met with-- and worked with him).

Actually I've had some other pretty amazing teacher-- I decided to seek them out.  But truth be told, my life is rather unexceptional.

I really can only think of one teacher in my life who I thought was exceptional - he was my Mr. Chips.  

I've never reached for those levels.  I may have had lots of varied and special experiences in my life, met many interesting people, so generally my life has not been exceptional - but I'm quite satisfied.

I think I might not have been clear in my posts. I didn't mean to imply that I was at the same level of proficiency as Rbt Fritz.  In fact he was my teacher-- I was merely one of his many. many students.

he was a true visionary-- he wanted to empower people by teaching them the material he created. But he also felt that one of the best ways to master something was to teach it!

So after the Basic courses, he made it possible for many, many graduates to teach it themselves! (I was teaching in the NY area-- after a while,if memory serves, there were probably something like 40 teachers in the area (maybe more).

I never reached anything near his level of mastery.

Glad you're doing well. And yes, tired of the heat and ready for October when it finally cools down enough after sunset that I can open windows. Uff..  I'm ready for fall. At least we're into August so there's only 4 more months of summer...   sigh

Welcome Back! Now you don't have President Biden to diss you may not pass The MAGA Purity Test. So, are you lighter than a brown bag?

Now you do have President Biden to diss anymore I suppose you probably will not pass The MAGA Purity Test...

What are you trying to say JBB?

Robert says he is considered left wing now on other sites. He was not MAGA here but he dissed Biden enough to pass with MAGA...

He was not MAGA here but he dissed Biden enough to pass with MAGA...

Perhaps not with you but he was with some pals here.

Like I said, Robert was respected by the MAGAs, on this site...

Speaking of, this should be in META as we are discussing the site and its members. A problem you guys had with mods in the past.

Robert says he is considered left wing now on other sites. He was not MAGA here but he dissed Biden enough to pass with MAGA...

IMO it seems to be able to develop different sides of our personalities--- this might be easier done by actively participating on differing sites. (Years ago I was a member of daily KOS-- a very liberal site. Also "freeper" AKA "The Free Republic"-- very right wing.

And of course Little Green Footballs which was one of the first... the #1 discussion  site on the 'Netfor a while. Controversial topics discussed--- but unlike so many other sites people actually respected people  with differing views.

What are you trying to say JBB?

II could be wrong but it may be that he's pointing out how extremely and arrogantly judgemental people are on many Internet sites. 

(Fortunately we don't have that problem here on NT )

Purple!

The Politics Forums for instance - some of you may have heard of it and John Russell you will enjoy this - they consider my commentary on the issues (the same as I have done on NT) as flaming liberalism.

I have always thought that the distinction that is Red/Blue to be shoving all of existence into a shot-glass. Not useful for creating or maintaining discussions. 

I have always thought that the distinction that is Red/Blue to be shoving all of existence into a shot-glass. Not useful for creating or maintaining discussions.

I totally agree. 

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are a few reasons why most of the discussions on social media sites are not really great discussions.

IMO there are primarily two reasons for this:

1. The tendency to "over-generalize". ("All 'Blue' people are total idiots'" -- or "All the "Red' people are total idiots"). The "shotglass"...

The other is:

2. The tendency to constantly make assumptions.

Not useful for creating or maintaining discussions. 

As a result, what people call "discussions are not real discussions (in a real discussion you want to hear different opinions-- even consider some opinions that you might not have heard before-- or perhaps never seriously considered before).

Unfortunately this is all too rare in most social media "discussions")