[Blessings2You]

You are very generous even to offer us the opportunity to have a say-so in this! Thank you!

I hate political discussions, which almost always deteriorate into arguing and mean-spiritedness, and tend to avoid them at almost any cost, whether online or in "real life".

That said, I wonder if it might be difficult to determine what constitutes a political discussion, as opposed to a "political comment" or a comment that's simply CONSTRUED as being political? As much as they tend to upset me personally, I vote to keep the political discussions (properly labeled) and continue to trust the wisdom of our moderators to keep things from going over the edge. Thank God for our moderators!!

One of the nice things about this community is that we CAN talk about what's on our minds and hearts, whether it be politics during this election year, or something as personal as our relationships, our fears, our faith.

[Chemar]

the last thing I want to do is censor open and civil discussion and debate here.

and I commend the vast majority of members for maintaining that civility, even when in disagreement.


I would like to just also present something from the mod side....

we try to be fair, neutral and unbiased when it comes to modding political threads (all threads for that matter), and to only intervene when things move into the realm of violating NTs guidelines on member to member interaction

but

it does seem that we inevitably have members from both "sides" getting upset and accusing us of being biased toward the other when we intervene in any way

for that reason I my vote is to return to only having very limited political discussion.

I realize it will still be hard to determine where the "limit" is.....but I care deeply about the members who are getting upset by the many political topics on the social forum, and felt things were beginning to focus too much on the negatives and personalities, and not enough on the issues and facts.

I will without question abide by whatever the majority decision is from the membership on this, and continue to apply the guidelines fairly and without partiality

[Kitty]

Thanks, Doc John, for giving us a say in the decision. That's very generous and considerate of you. That's what separates this board from all the others....there's really no comparison!

[Alffe]

Oh, my knee jerk reaction was let us continue to talk about it....it's almost over...but then I read AMN's post and she's right...we'll all have to rehash who shoulda, coulda...blah blah blah.

And Chemar...well we all know that she's just a saint who's middle name is fair.

Getting to vote on the decision is such a wonderful reminder that this is a "home" we should all be proud to be a part of.

And Mrs.D..I had missed 60 min show so because of you...I got to see it. *grin

Thanks Doc John. I guess I'll vote...

[Momma's Kids]

I some times read the political views, but rarely, actually never post. I've seen many members get upset, feelings hurt and then there is the rehashing after the election as AMN stated.

I also feel the community team has plenty to read without having to worry about being a referee on political issues. Then again, like I stated I don't post on certain subjects simple reason being...

My parents taught me never to discuss, politics, religion and the right and wrongs of the world. lol

[barb02]

I'm confused. Are we talking about threads on politics or the election 2008 subgroup? If it is a subgroup, can it be limited to just those who want to be involved in the discussion?

[FranksAngel]

first and foremost ... my hat is off to all moderators .. i believe they are doing a wonderful job ...

i have placed my vote ... i just have one small comment to make ... i am wondering just how the bickering looks to the newbies who are viewing our site for the first time ... just because we dont see their post doesn't mean they dont see ours ... is bickering how we want to portray our community??? i thought the whole idea behind our community here was to be open-minded ... informative ... helpful ... supportive ... im sorry but how can we be these things if we are bickering amongst ourselves ???

thanks for allowing us to vote doc ...

[ewizabeth]

Thanks DocJohn,

I voted yes. I know there are other forums, but the people I care about are not at those forums. I like to discuss these things with the people who matter the most to me. I hope I haven't hurt anybody's feelings with my posts. I'm not normally so politically involved. This particular election is so especially important given the state of our nation.

[clouds z]

whoever wins we have live with that choice and who we vote for

whats so great about being an ostrich and denying what these candidates have said and what they stand for ?then let the chips fall where they will

i think we are adults to figure this all out , so whats the problem?

if you dont like politics then go read something else get used to the fact there are other opinions than your own

i have family members for obama and i dont hate them,but some of my" friends" seem to ignore me i think

[glenntaj]

While I understand how many people like to shy away from discussions about politics and religion, one certainly can't deny they are among the most important, and far-reaching, aspects of our lives, and certainly worthy of discussion.

I think, as long as the section in which most of this discussion goes on is seperate, available to those who want to go there, but arranged so that those who want to avoid it can, such discussion is fine, even if high-spirited. I would extend the same line of reasoning to other hot button issues, such as the economic situation.

After all, the whole idea of our country is that there shall be no "official" censorship, either from without or within. That hasn't always been the way things have worked at times, but that's supposed to be the ideal. As long as the communication is not slanderous or libelous, it's supposed to be free to take flight.

(My opinions on this are well--sweeping things under the rug only lumps up the rug, and people trip over lumps, sunlight is the best disenfectant, etc. But I have no objection to their being a certain specific place for these discussions to occur, so those who wish to avoid them can.)