This is my first new topic, hooray!
I have been reading the GD board and find myself marveling at people who can hold one completely uncontrovertible point of view. I’m not trashing, I’m actually a lttle envious. I have always been able to see both sides of an issue. I find this a real hindrance in a debate. I’ve never been able say to someone “you’re wrong, I’m right so there.” Does anyone out there know what I’m saying?
Life Before Death. Why wait?
I’m trying my damndest to remember the name of the band that used your User Name as an album title, but it’s just escaping me right now . . .
Anyway, if it means anything, I’ve looked at the GD forum with your same jaundiced eye since I’ve been here. I suspect that a good dust-up is often the whole point, and if you watch long enough you’ll notice that even the most hard-core debater gives a wink and a nod to their sworn enemies. Even in the heat of the moment it is just good clean fun, and the best of them keep their wits and their sense of humor about them.
In other words, don’t be afraid to jump right in. Just make sure you go in armed to the teeth, then fire when ready . . .
Dr. Watson
"Why, of course I have a cite, let me look . . . "
I have the opposite problem. I become convinced that some concept, political belief, etc. is absolutely right, and then I have to force myself to look at other sides of the issue just to keep my mind from closing up. It’s nothing conscious — I’ll just realize one day that I’m purposely ignoring the facts in favor of my own mental skew.
I wish I had your “problem”, especially since the rational part of my mind knows that the world is too complex to fit into the neat little conceptual pigeonholes demanded by the human brain. I think a truly wise person looks at life with absolutely no preconceived notions and evaluates everything based on the evidence.
But hey, that’s what we have Cecil for, right?
I don’t even read GD because of this. Watching my state (Vermont), which until recently I perceved to be quite open and progressive fall into two sides of the gay marriage debate (“It’s our right!” “It’s wrong!”) has made me really loose faith in humanity.
I’m glad there are at least a few people who still have the “convince me.” attitude out there.
“I go on guilt trips a couple of time a year. Mom books them for me.” A custom made Wally .sig!
My iguana's sick.
He's all floppy. Could he have
Reptile dysfunction?
-Chef Troy, Haiku MasterMe too, lunasea. It’s taken me a lifetime to fully comprehend and accept that nothing is as black and white as it appears. I’ve spent years examining issues and opinions and turning over thoughts in my head with “But on the other hand…” being my standard preface.
At times, the feeling that I’m always sitting on the fence (or more accurately, leaping from side to side) is exhausting. On the whole, however, I think it’s a gift.
It’s a blessin’ and a curse - being a Libra, I know all too well about seeing both sides of the issue.
Seeing both sides, even agreeing with both sides (or at least giving each side validity) doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to flip-flop. You can believe something while giving the opposite point of view credence without compromising your own beliefs.
Did that make sense? It’s the UU in me.
I’m just glad I’m open-minded enough to be able to date a wide variety of men… 
Esprix
Evidently, I rock.
Ask the Gay Guy!
I understand what you mean, but I tend to do the same thing on a more localized basis. I have trouble taking sides with people when they disagree with someone else. For instance, when some of our employees quit recently due to problems with management, they came to me complaining (when I saw them socially) and tried to get me to commiserate with them. I just couldn’t do it. I could see their point, but I could also see management’s point.
I do the same thing here at SDMB. When people start ragging on someone and throwing the “troll” label around, it really annoys me. Yeah, I can see that the person is annoying, but I can also see that the people attacking him/her are also being unreasonable and pretty annoying themselves. I try not to voice my opinions too much on this, since it’s a sure way to get labeled “sockpuppet” and be jeered out of here. Sometimes it’s just easier to nod and agree with people than it is to be diplomatic. Mostly, people don’t want to hear a differing opinion from their own, even on a board dedicated to “fighting ignorance.”
I can generally see both sides of a debate, although I frequently disagree with one side. Without citing a specific example, since that might turn this into a debate, there are some issues in which one side is primarily a religious standpoint, such as, my religion teaches that X is morally wrong, therefore I am against it. I can understand that viewpoint without agreeing with it. I have a hard time arguing with people who are coming from a religious standpoint, because I feel that they have an absolute right to hold those beliefs. Now, if they’re trying to impose those beliefs on me, that’s another matter.
I’ve noticed in GD that in addition to those who are arguing things that they feel strongly about and are trying to convince others of their views, there are also those who seem to simply enjoy debating. I don’t really enjoy debating, because I get too emotionally involved in it, but I sometimes enjoy reading those debates because they can be very interesting.
TV Reporter: Can you destroy the earth?
The Tick: I hope not. That’s where I keep all my stuff!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who feels this way. I never visit GD because I have no spirit for debating, for precisely that reason. I find that it is impossible for me to NOT see both sides of an issue. In some cases I can easily say that only one position makes rational sense to me, so that would be “right” in my mind, but since I can see the other point of view, even if I don’t agree with it, I can’t muster any energy to argue about it. More often, both (or more) sides have both valid and invalid points, and there is no one “right” answer, even for me as an individual. This is nothing new, but what I found heartening were the posters who said that they sometimes find this relentless perception of multiple views exhausting. Occasionally, when I’m so tired that the rational mind just can’t deal with anything more, I find myself wishing that I could just take a single-minded position and say that’s it, open and shut. I don’t mean it (I don’t really want to be that way, and I know I don’t mean it even as the thought is crossing my mind), but the longing feeling is real - like waking up in the morning and wishing you could stay in bed instead of getting up and going to work, even though you know you’ll be dragging yourself off to the shower in a minute. Seeing multiple sides of EVERYTHING, from current events to philosophical positions to interpersonal relations to the discussion between two strangers sitting nearby on the bus, just wears a person out sometimes. I feel like that guy in “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” who is so drained by what he sees that he blinds himself in an attempt to stop it, only to find that he can still see it all. My exhausted spirit may cry, “Enough, I can’t take anymore of understanding even those with whom I vehemently disagree,” but I can’t stop understanding any more than I can stop my lungs from breathing.
I wouldn’t change the way I am, but it’s not always fun.
MST3K: Best lil’ puppet show on the planet.
Of course, some people’s opinions are just so wrong that… Oh. Never mind.
Although, in all seriousness, there are people out there who hold views that are downright harmful and just plain wrong - killing blacks is ok, beating up fags is ok, extortion is a way of life, etc. It’d be kind of hard to see their side of it when they’re out harming people. (Obviously these are extreme cases - very few things in life are so black and white, and I would be the last person to say where the greying begins.)
Esprix
Evidently, I rock.
Ask the Gay Guy!
I have always seen both sides and have always felt tentative and indecisive. I have both admired and been appalled by people who can not see the validity of the other persons point of view.
I have felt that perhaps I just don’t have any passion in my life for any one thing. There are very few things that push my buttons. There is a song that comes to mind:
I’ve looked at life from both sides now
from win and lose and still somehow,
it’s lifes illusions I recall,
I really don’t know life
at all.