Saturday, October 13, 2012

Persuasion and Blind Advocacy


If he was rude, say so. Don't pretend otherwise because you agree with his positions.

If she said something stupid, don't defend it because she is on your team. Admit it and move on.

At some point in our history, large numbers of people turned into rigid advocates who believe it is more important to be right than to do right. They refuse to concede that anyone of good sense could possibly disagree with their positions.

Read their articles and websites. The opposition must be ignorant, corrupt or evil because only someone with those qualities could fail to acknowledge the superiority of those who unblinkingly claim a monopoly on reality. These rigid advocates may believe their unwavering positions are a strength, but they are wrong.

It is a self-inflicted wound. Each time they deny or twist the truth, they hemorrhage credibility.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But please, do it respectfully. People defend awful ideas when they know that if they can't defend their ideas they'll be ridiculed.

Michael Wade said...

There is something noble when a person concedes that a previously held idea may not have merit.

Michael