I think respectful discussion of difference is something that the US may be losing, or at least that's my opinion. I almost never hear two people with opposing views discussing something rationally. Talk-radio-style invective is the fashion of the day. I wouldn't want to subject you to Rush Limbaugh or Neil Boortz, but you can do a search for either of those guys to find out what kind of rhetoric I'm talking about.

Come to think of it, I find the would-be-Hyde-Park-Corner artistes do but themselves confound - faced with noisy/aggressive folk, I am inclined to go off quietly and do the exact opposite of whatever line they are pushing...

I think I'm with you on this one, too. Does that make me a rebel? ;)