Lately it seems as if the most popular method of convincing someone of the error of their ways and the total wrongness of their opinions is to insult them, berate them and generally act so nasty that they finally agree with the other guy to get some peace! Trust me - sheer volume and vitriol rarely makes a point!
I stay away from political issues on my blog mostly because I'm not educated enough ON the issues to make convincing arguments pro or con relative to most of today's politics. And frankly having grown up with a mother for whom politics was the equivalent of the air she breathed, my eyes glaze over at the very mention of the word "politics"!
One thing I know for damn sure is that politeness is never out of style - and that an aggressive approach to a situation can only result in an aggressive response. Unless of course the person being attacked is an extremely passive personality and even one of those (a vanishing breed in today's world) can be pushed to the point of reacting in a way their mother would not have approved!
Believe it or not it is quite possible to think very highly of a person and still deplore their opinions/attitudes/ideas - that doesn't mean they are wrong, it means you don't agree with them. And that is not necessarily the same thing.
The term "agree to disagree" exists for a reason: it means that although you and I have differing opinions we think enough of each other to not beat the proverbial dead horse trying to get to a point where we think alike on a subject. It means that, heaven forbid, even if *I* am wrong, I am probably not going to change my opinion (especially not if you are snarling at me) nor are you apt to have a sudden epiphany and realize you've been standing on the dark side all along!
In many cases statistics play little role in the making of opinions - some, of course, are irrefutable while others can be made to prove almost anything. The old saying don't confuse me with facts didn't just pop out of nowhere - a lot of people (probably myself included) sometimes hold tight to ideas that can be disproved by facts, In some cases it's pure stupidity or stubbornness that causes a person to cling to a concept or idea and in others it's flat denial of the truth. Either way a gentle approach is much more apt to help them see the light (according to you) than ridicule or sarcasm.
Many times a person's core values drive their opinions and beliefs regardless of what is literally slapping them in the face for facts. My mother, for instance, in spite of 40 years in the legislature truly believed that most politicians were trying to do their best to forward the interests of their constituency. That is not so much any more but driven by her core values she was incapable of viewing them otherwise in spite of repeated proof to the contrary.
So anyhow, arriving at my sometimes obscure point: be kind to each other and you will find in the long run you will accomplish a lot more than by attacking anyone who does not share your point of view. Remember the old saying "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar"?
True that!
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