Think about Newton's Third Law.
Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction
Here's how it works. If you push on anything, it pushes back on you. That's why if you lean against the wall, you don't just fall through it. The wall pushes back on you as hard as you push on it, and you and the wall both stay in place.
My theory is that the passion of our beliefs causes us to fail miserably when we speak to the unconverted. When we engage in political discourse, we tend to push, causing the other party to push back. This causes political discourse with Republicans to become a painful exercise in masochism.
More below the jump...
I have participated in, and carefully observed numerous political discourses and have come up with the following theories:
Shaniriver's Theories of Political Discourse:
- Passionate Rhetoric results in equal and opposite Passionate Rhetoric
- Every accusation results in an equal and opposite accusation.
- Name-calling results in equal and opposite name-calling.
Example 1:
Democrat Action: "Today's Republicans are nothing but Fascists!"
Republican Reaction: "Yeah, well, today's Democrats are Socialists!"
Example 2:
Democrat Action: "George Bush is the worst president ever!"
Republican Reaction: "Yeah, well, he could get more done if he didn't have to clean up Clinton's mess. Clinton was the worst president ever!"
This is where we are going wrong. Our passion causes us to engage in political discourse that causes an equal and opposite reaction... also known as an argument that we can never win.
By now, you may be wondering, "Where is this leading?" Simple. If they're not appalled, they're not paying attention. We want them to pay attention. They won't pay attention if we try to shove our views down their throats. So we have to follow the Rules of Political Discourse:
Shaniriver's First Rule of Political Discourse: Complaining about "the government" and world affairs is a time-honored, bi-partisan, and patriotic activity. (Note: This rule also applies to LTE's.)
Caveat: Never use hot-button words like Republican, Democrat, Bush, this administration, conservative, liberal, etc. Instead say, "They" or "the government." (Note: This caveat also applies to LTE's.)
Shaniriver's Second Rule of Political Discourse: Guerilla tactics or hit and run idea bombs are preferable to two-way political conversation. (Also known as "Say what you have to say, then leave!")
Caveat: Keep it light.
Example 1:
Democrat Action: "I heard on the news today that most of the fish in the world are contaminated with Mercury. Heh, good thing I like heavy metal! Heck, with the day I've had, I almost wish I were walking around in a mercury-caused brain-damaged stupor. Fish, it's what's for dinner! Heh!" (Walk away, whistling.)
Republican Reaction: "Heh, heh! You're nuts!" (Thinking, "Mercury in fish causes brain damage? I ate fish for dinner last night!")
Result: The next time this person hears a news report about mercury emissions, legislation or levels in fish, he/she will pay attention.
Example 2:
Democrat Action: "Did you hear that the government is planning to cut education funding and increase Pentagon funding? Heh, our kids will be dumb as rocks, but at least we'll have lots of cool new weapons!" (Saunter away, chuckling and shaking head.)
Republican Reaction: "Yeah, cool new weapons!" (Thinking, "Wait a minute! My kids are going to be dumb as rocks?")
Result: The next time this person hears a news report about the national budget or education, he/she will pay attention.
In the last two examples, the Democrat used guerilla hit and run idea bomb tactics. We must never engage the enemy in two-sided political discourse. When it comes to political discourse, our passion is our enemy. The Democrat in the above examples also did not use hot-button words and provoke a defensive, partisan response.
Your duty as a Democrat is to avoid the equal and opposite reaction by laughingly dropping patriotic (i.e. government bashing) idea bombs on our targets. You drop the bomb... then walk away. If you never use hot-button words, your target will never suspect your agenda. One day your target will walk up to you and say, "Hey, did you hear what the government is up to now?" You have won. You can sit side by side with this person, government bashing til the cows come home. It's the patriotic thing to do. Before you know it, your target will be paying attention and appalled... Just like the rest of us.
The floor is open for other discourse rules and Idea Bomb suggestions!