Is it reasonable to expect people not to make partisan comments?

OK but I see a lot of "facts" and "sources" cited here as "truth" when they are primarily used as self-justification and to bludgeon others with.  As though the person with the most "facts" and "sources" somehow must win! Now facts can be wonderful and they can flower into truths but we must question their sources which can be and are very partisan and skewed in themselves.  We can read all the sources in the universe but what good are they if they don't accord with our experience and that of most other people we know?  

For atheists, that which is true may be due to sound logic, 
or because it can be proven as a fact,
or because both the logic and the facts work together.
Bad or false logic is called a fallacy. There are fifteen kinds of logical fallacy.
Cherry-picking facts is one of the fallacies; if someone selects only the facts that suit their argument but ignore other facts which undermine it, then their argument is invalid and fails.

For people who are well educated, irrespective of their beliefs, an argument is persuasive if it is based on both factual evidence and sound logic.
People who are open-minded and have values which prioritise sound logic and use of facts can be persuaded by such arguments.
This is why proof is vital to any argument.

I'm sorry about the feeling of friction.
I accept that you and I will probably rarely agree because we have different ideas about what constitutes truth,
and we have different values.

In English, the word truth has two possible meanings (see any dictionary):
that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality
or
a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

These two meanings can lead to much confusion and friction in Western culture because, for a believer, the faith and its doctrines are The Truth.  For some, especially the creationist sects, where there is a disagreement between scientifically proven facts and the doctrines of the faith, the faith takes precedence.
Even in ecumenical congresses, the faithful debate over what is true - but in these circumstances, they use the Old and New Testament as their basis of evidence, and their interpretations as the basis from which to argue.

No one can read "all the sources in the universe"; the recorded knowledge is so vast that even experts can't read everything in their field in one lifetime.
However, we laypeople can easily find out what the world's top experts have to say and cross-check it against the latest in peer-reviewed evidence. We can be diligent in our research to try to discover if there is contrary evidence. We can analyse the logic and statistics to ensure that they are not skewed.
No matter what our points of view or biases, it is always possible to examine all sides of an issue with integrity.

 

IF - "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it".  - Evelyn Beatrice Hall

:) :)

I agree, but we could also talk about sandwiches and grammar.

I'm not sure you are helping, SpunkySenior---lol 

Some days I come on here, scroll one page of questions, and then go back to watching the paint dry.

Some days I come on here just to see who is on and who I can play with.  You happen to be one of those people, tom... 
That is a compliment...:) :)

I knew it was---thanks

I know, the grass isn’t growing at a watchable rate this year...

True.

I have found it necessary to keep a small jar of paint and a box of disposable brushes nearby.

I wasn't suggesting issues shouldn't be talked about. It's more the slant I'm not keen on. The Kavanaugh situation is an easy and recent example. Instead of people reporting on the facts as they were known or debating the merits of the case, it repeatedly came back to democrats are doing XYZ and republicans are doing XYZ. That's a problem. In doing that, I don't think we'll ever make any headway on anything. 

I don’t think it’s unhealthy, as long as we police the occasional incivility. Just let it be what it is, people expressing opinions. Not all are pearls. This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 10, 2018 9:51 AM MDT

I don't need all to be "pearls," but some opinions are similarly small and round and typically found in the rabbit hutch.

:)
You know, you can take a boy out of the rabbit hutch, but you... This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 10, 2018 9:52 AM MDT

A definite chuckle on that one.

We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another - until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices. -  Richard M. Nixon