Why is talk and reason so futile? Why do Conservatives deny reality and is is possible to reason with them?
For a long time I used to argue and debate with friends and family about the great issues of the day. And, yes, I heard the admonition about never discussing politics or religion but what's the sense of talking only to those who agree? We need new coverts. So I tried.
I tried talking calmly and explaining as opposed to shouting and debating. I tried reason. I tried patience. I tried understanding. I tried reaching a common ground. I tried every possible way of reaching them without arousing some inner emotion which would arise and block any further attempts at reason. Often I would catch them in a contradiction or using information they were forced to admit was incorrect. But all my efforts were all futile
I was told Democrats were playing politics. I was rushing to judgment. And most surprisingly, I was nitpicking. Regarding Bush was told "Anyone can find fault with someone if they want to." Yes, criticizing a war for reasons shown to be false was nitpicking and faultfinding! Somehow you just know this same standard is not being applied to Obama.
Often I would find that they would distort what I had said to a degree which was truly astounding. On one occasion I told someone that the war in Iraq was making us weaker and was not stopping terrorism.
"So you think you can be friends with terrorists?" was the reply. I again calmly explained that I was as angered and upset as anyone about the attack on 9/11 but that this was not a proper or sensible response. Again I was told that "being soft on terrorism is not going to convert them" More times than I can remember I calmly and softly told one particular person that I was certainly against terrorism and would certainly fight terrorists but that "this was not a fight against terrorists but something that actually strengthened them" and more times than I can remember the response was "I can't understand why you are agreeing with the terrorists' After the tenth time I heard this I lost it and shouted, "DON'T YOU FUCKIN' LISTEN!!" Patience has its limits. Listen? Think? Understand the damage they are doing? The truth is, they don't. They can't.
There are many reasons why. In Washington its the blinding influence of Big Money. At home its ignorance, racism, fear and the influence of Fox News.
But at its core much of it boils down to a simple realization about these folks.
A friend put it this way.
Some people are curious about the world, question their experiences and try to experience the walk in others shoes.
But there are those that believe place where they were born and the things they were taught are the only real truths. They never question. They never challenge. They are never curious about why other people think and act as they do. Theirs is the only way. Theirs is the best and woe to those that cannot see this.
Now their old world is changing in ways that make them feel unsafe and fearful. Last week I received three separate emails. Two writers said they feared Barrack Obama. Yes they actually used that word, feared. And the other warned me that if the gays were allowed to get married, "God might remove his blessings from us".
They cannot admit their lifetime beliefs of American, Christian and even White supremacy might not be true. They cannot admit the party and the policies and the man they so firmly believed in and fought for has misled them. Can they admit their thoughts that the Holy Spirit was guiding them were wrong? How can they now be certain about anything in their lives if that inner voice was misleading them? They can't. So they deny reality and talk such foolishness as telling us Bush kept us safe from terrorist attacks except for 9/11 and Obama must be a master of deception since no reasonable person would vote for such a man and express their desire to "take back their stolen country".
Even as I write this I have this rage to shout at them, "Who the hell do you think you are to talk about "taking back your country" as if some foreign invaders had stolen it from them and needed to be driven out! And that is precisely how they feel.
These are exactly the people Rush Limbaugh and others are speaking to when he shouts "Barrack HUSSEIN Obama" and its for these people that Fox news was created. Fox News reassures them that the resistance is alive and well and soon the invaders will be driven out.
So this is why you cannot argue, debate and reason with with these people.
So you can say what you want and point out all the absurdities and contradictions of the entire family of rampaging pachyderms but you are not getting to the underlying causes of their beliefs. I am reminded of the saying," Convince me against my will and I will believe it still."
Unfortunately, I know of no way of dealing with such individuals but be assured they are highly motivated and fully intend to vote in the 2010 elections. If Progressives and Democrats do not stand firm and fight for their ideals as fervently as they did last year or if they fight among themselves or waste time in coddling the likes of Olympia Snow or Joe Lieberman then the Glenn Becks of the world will have been proven right in their fear-and-smear lying attack dog philosophy and we will all suffer for it.