"I Changed My Mind": State of the Union + GOP Debate #6
Millions of Americans tuned in Tuesday night to hear from President Barack Obama as he laid out what he believed to be the “State of the Union”. Millions more Americans tuned in Thursday night to hear from candidates for the GOP nomination as they each laid out their vision for America. And Wednesday night, millions of Americans tuned into see if they won the lottery. If you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you did at least two of these things.
All in all, a busy week. And sadly, there’s no way to go into the kind of detail that I’d like to due the volume of all that’s happened. Therefore, I want to pose a wider question that touches on most of what has gone on this week -
Is it possible to change a person’s mind?
The quick answer is ‘no, not really’. As humans, we like to reserve the right to change our own mind. As Dale Carnegie put it,
Obviously, the quick answer is not enough. If it was, then opinion blogs like this, talk shows, radio shows, anything opinion related at all would be totally useless and a waste of time. Therefore, the question really becomes, “How is one convinced to change their own mind?”
We try all the time to change people’s minds. Since the beginning of time different opinions have led to arguments designed to convert others to your own point of view. But more often than not, those arguments don’t seem to work.
When someone like Bill O’Reilly interviews Obama, no one is expecting to see either one walk away from that encounter having had their mind changed on any major issue. The same with most debates. However, we still try. We try and try because we believe deep down that our belief is the best and the best answer to the problems that confront us, individually and as a nation.
Obama presented courses of action on many different issues at his State of the Union Address. We heard many different courses of action on those issues at Thursday’s debate. Was your mind changed by the State of the Union? How about during the GOP debate?
The problem is, most people don’t like changing their minds. It kind of hurts sometimes. So what happens? They shy away from having their beliefs challenged. So while opinion programs like Rush Limbaugh or Thom Hartmann are presenting ideas to their audience, those that agree will stick around while those who disagree will chose to find another show to listen to. What ends up happening (generally speaking, there are exceptions obviously) is these commentators end up preaching to the choir.
If we believe that our message needs to be spread, then we do not want to be preaching to the choir, the ones that are already in complete agreement. If this continues to happen, the proverbial walls are built higher and higher between rival opinions. The one side continues to steep in their beliefs while the other side does the same. Dislike and distrust can start to grow, and the gap becomes wider, and before long, instead of supporting an idea you firmly hold, you are just cheering on ‘the team’.
Say, for example, you had been raised a die-hard Packers fan. Green Bay was the team and no other. No matter what I said, it is doubtful I could convince you otherwise. Even if they had gone for years without a single win, a true fan would stick by them no matter what.
Now, there’s no problem with that in sports. But when it comes to politics, those who support a worldview merely from a sense of loyalty are sadly mistaken and do so to the detriment of the country itself. These are the people who cry out “Hate speech!” demanding “safe zones” so that they are not “offended” by opinions different from their own. These are the people who call names and are for “deporting” or “silencing” those who disagree with them. It is wrong and it is not America.
It has been said many times here at Paineful Truth, if what you believe cannot stand up to questioning, if other opinions scare you, then it is time to take a long hard look at what you believe and why. If you can’t back up what you believe with rational, logical arguments, then it’s definitely time for some serious reevaluation of your worldview.
If you believe that you can defend your positions, then, and only then, can you move on to trying to influence others around you. Enter every discussion with the realization that you cannot always be right. Don’t use discussions to throw around talking points, but rather challenge others to examine their own beliefs and their reasons for believing. If the reply you receive is vitriol and name-calling, or else repetition of more talking points, walk away. They may not realize it, but you have won. Maybe they will think harder about what they believe, maybe they won’t. The key is that you’ve presented the question that we all must answer.
There is a right and wrong on certain issues. Truth is real, solid and eternal. Abortion is the murder of innocent children. Freedom of speech, religion, association, etc. are necessary to a free government and a free nation. Tyranny of all kinds is wrong and must be fought against. On the issues where the right and wrong are not so clear, we must hold on to our principles, to freedom, liberty and truth. Let these be your guide, listen, think critically.
I leave you with our motto here at Paineful Truth -
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