America is divided big time. Americans are a big part of the problem.

[grumpyduck]

8. Just trying to get the thread back on track :-)

It's already off-track as I guessed it would be, but here goes:

The recurring theme in my OP was anger: the anger that seems to be so prevalent in the U.S. right now, the anger that makes it difficult if not impossible to have a useful discussion with someone who doesn't agree with you (on any subject), the anger that often makes us take everything personally, the anger that makes us resort to name-calling. The anger that makes us take something out of context and turn it around and use it to attack whoever said it. The anger that makes us sometimes apparently respond to the subject line instead of the content of a post. The anger that often makes us want to be more angry.

I'm 67 years old and I've never seen so many people, all around, be so angry. How can you have a productive discussion (on anything) with somebody who starts off with the mindset that you're full of it? We used to at least give the other guy a chance, but now we so often just write people off as morons.

That's the division I was talking about. And that's why so often I want to yell at some people: "Shut up and take a breath!"