Do you think that in civilized society we should all be able disagree without hating each other?

Well, here in the USA, our Congress cannot do this P!

On a personal level, never hated anyone for disagreeing with me. Acutally, don’t agree with myself occasionally. loll

You would assume so. Apparently not on here though. I can give a perfectly reasonable opinion on this site & some people go all defensive. Very insecure & unnecessary but there you go.

You’re quick to jump to the conclusion that we even live in a civilized society.
It’s better to think everyone is an asshole. You’re chances of being disappointed and offended will decrease significantly.

In a perfect world that should be the case, but humans are designed in a way that when our arguments or beliefs are challenged we automatically disagree and start to dislike the opposer. This is because our beliefs and opinions can form our “selves” and our egos, so when someone debates or disagrees they take it as a personal attack on them as a person.

We should!! but who’s civilised! these days!! I agree with Vunessuh! :-/

Not until we learn to detach our pride from the outcome of a discussion/debate.
If everyone would enter into discussion with the understanding that they don’t have all the answers, we would have more room for finding common ground.

@fireside ditto!

Most definately. My dad and I are a prime example as there are certain major issues that him and I don’t see eye to eye on. For example my dad doesn’t understand homosexuality. He doesn’t hate or even dislike gay people and he doesn’t think they should have limited rights because of their sexuality. He just doesn’t understand how someone can be gay. He isn’t very religious or anything like that and he doesn’t seem to think it is wrong he just doesn’t get it. I suppose he thinks it is a choice and I have tried until I am blue in the face to tell him that being gay is as much a choice as being straight but he doesn’t agree with me and their have been times when I have become quite angry at him about it.

Do I hate him for that opinion/ignorance? Not at all. I love my dad to pieces but I don’t agree with him.

There are plenty more subjects that we don’t agree with but that was the one that was easiest to use as an example. I hope no one thinks my dad is a bigot or a horrible person. He really isn’t.

@Leanne True story Leanne..my comment is getting off the subject of the original post, but have two uncles and one would be a “John Wayne” prototype and other one would be “Pee Wee Herman” prototype. Both are the product of morally good and loving parents. Really believe being gay is hereditary issue, not a conscious choice! Due to religious beliefs, probably a lot of people do not go the gay route, but are attracted to the idea of being gay!

I would hope that this is possible. What generally causes these explosions of hatred is religous programming. In this I also include radical atheists who have adopted their party line with the zeal of fundamentalist evangelicals

I was thinking the other day that we aren’t as civilized and advanced as we think we are. Our timescale is very small compared to the timescale of our(everything on the planet) evolution. Of course we seem more intelligent compared to 100 years ago, and we are, but how intelligent and advanced have we become is the question. Sure we have technology, but think about it….....just a few decades ago…...or one humans lifetime…..we were telling other humans that they were below everyone else because of a genetic predisposition…....how completely asinine is that?

I think my point is that we aren’t as civil as we think we are and we have a long way to go.

Yes, and we should also refrain from forcing our opinions or views on others, even if we are convinced that what we know is right, or best for everyone.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard ditto!

Mark Twain wrote the following over 100 years ago. It’s human nature to idealize the past and how things ‘should’ be:
“But you shall read it when you come to see me; then perhaps you will believe with me that civilization are not realities, but only dreams; dreams of the mind, not of the heart, and therefore fictitious, and perishable; that they have never affected the heart and therefore have no valuable progress; that the heart remains today what it always was, as intimacy with any existing savage tribe shall show. Indeed the average of the human ‘brain’ is not a shade higher today than it was in Egyptian times ten thousand years ago.”

Yep!

@Dracool And another Mark Twain quote: “Every problem has a solution that is simple, attractive and wrong”.

There’s no place for hate in a democracy. It’s human to dislike a few people.

Ideally yes, on the far side of the healthy psychological and spiritual spectrum, but alas, we have a long ways to go.

I take no offense at disagreements, unless someone is putting the thumb screws on, falling into hysteria in making their point…I don’t do sloppy emotional reactions very well.