It seems that once the human mind is made up, it is hard to change. I’m no different in that. It takes some real convincing to get me to change my point of view or my behavior. There are times when I do take in new information however, and it alters my perception and sometimes my behavior.
It seems like politics in America today is like a football game, you choose one side or the other and stick to that loyalty no matter if you’re winning or losing.
For most things loyalty is honorable. Win or lose, it is your team. However politics is not a game, or shouldn’t be. It is the real world and decisions have serious consequences. Sometimes your side is wrong. Sometimes your side does damage to a segment of the population.
A lot depends on one’s personality. If your orientation is dictatorial, you may prefer a stricter and more closed society. If your orientation is more democratic, you may prefer a looser and more open society. Both sides have their strengths and weaknesses. Either way, there are limits. Each of us must decide what we are willing to fight for.
I prefer a more open society with decency toward all people and belief in science and fairness toward the poor, not only the rich. In that, I will do whatever I can to form and preserve that way of life. I cannot not just sit by and hope this catastrophic administration will be over in a year or two, or three or four, or…. Let’s just wait and see. Waiting is the lethargic brother of appeasement.
Hi Haik, I agree lethargy is like being the deer in headlights. Is the car going to stop or will it hit me head-on? I tend to be a person who looks at both sides of a coin. Not everything or every person can be all good or all bad, right? I admit with our current administration it has been difficult to see the good side. However, I've been for stopping production of the penny for a while now. The country needs the minerals and it will increase the value of some of my saved old pennies. It's a small win for Mr. T. I know, but it's a plus in my eyes nevertheless.
As for changing minds, that's a hard one. I know from teaching fifth graders for many years that most are ingrained with their parent's beliefs. When you've rooted for one team your whole life it's just about impossible to give that up. Take the Dodgers for example. Even when they are losing they will sell out their season tickets.
It takes just about a catastrophic event to change minds, or political points of view. Maybe the loss of a job or the deportation of a loved one will do it. But there are always those small positives that keep people hanging on. Don't get me wrong. I'm not changing my political side anytime soon. But neither are those on the other side of the fence.
It's the Fence Sitters that need to be targeted. These are the wait-and-seers, the abstainers, and young people of voting age that are still impressionable. During the Revolutionary War and the forming of our country the Fence Sitters were important to target politically. They were women who could not vote but had influence over their men, or they were men who owned businesses that were being taxed to death. Today, women can vote and may take a side since their rights are being eroded. And those business owners are going to start feeling it real soon. So maybe there's hope.There I go again, looking for the good in the bad. Since I, personally, can't do much to change our current situation, I'm hoping there are enough Fence Sitters that can fall into the arms of a liberal to make a difference.
Thanks for keeping the discussion open,
Carol