I think the wide range of opinions on this thread reflects the greatest strength of this subforum. People from many divergent backgrounds are interested in LCF and many of them post here. I hesitate to put this out there, but the current nastiness also reflects our society, especially the political events of the day.

One example on this forum is the conflict between environmentalists and anti-environmentalists. We will never agree on this issue, and it's very unlikely that we'll ever persuade anybody to change their minds about it. Opinions about the environment are pretty well baked in at this point. So we are left with two optionS: A) To continue arguing about the environment, but work to make the arguments respectful and collegial; or B) ban discussion of this controversial topic. But a third option--to say that environmentalism is irrelevant to LCF--is absurd and impossible.

The same could be said about other issues such as pro-car vs. anti-car, sprawl vs. zoning control, and others.

These issues are important to LCF people (whether pro or con) and we can either discuss them responsibly or ban discussion all together. Banning discussion will make this a boring and pitiful forum, which I predict will eventually die for lack of interest. OTIOH, I'm not sure people really are capable of civilized discussion in this day and age. It takes self-discipline and mutual respect--qualities that seem to be in short supply lately. We mostly treat each other respectfully on the LCF subforum, but obviously we sometimes fall short.

If you guys think about it, for all your complaining, you really do enjoy our discussions. Obviously the ones complaining the loudest are the ones who spend a good deal of time here een though there are many other things they could be doing with their time. What makes the discussions interesting is not that everybody agrees, but that everybody disagrees.

Discussions where everybody agrees (as sugested by Machka) are just small talk and terribly boring within a short time. The people you disagree with are not your enemies. They are your partners, who make life interesting and enjoyable. I love [MENTION=265079]Mobile 155[/MENTION] and [MENTION=112025]wolfchild[/MENTION], even though I almost always disagree with them, because I know they won't let me get away with my usual crap. They challenge me and force me to think more deeply and express myself more clearly. I won't ever change their minds, but it sure is fun to try. And I hope they feel the same about me!