Most people are guilty of the crime of automatically discounting another person’s idea because of who they identify with, without actually listening to the idea itself. Instead of arguing the premise of the idea, we either attack the person personally or who they identify with.
As a conservative, I realized that when someone identifies as a liberal, I automatically assume they are an irrational idiot, which they are, and I immediately discount their opinion, which I should. However, I realized I can’t just call them emotional idiot and walk away because that does no one any good. It seems that the best form of argument is to not attack them personally or attribute motive behind their idea, but to argue their specific ideas and why their ideas are wrong. Calling them a leftist idiot isn’t going to help change anyone’s minds. And maybe there’s a chance, even if it’s a very small chance, that a you will be able to break through to a leftist on some of their points. When arguing with a leftist, what you need to do is try to make them explain their thoughts in more depth and point out the problems with that.
This is why there is such a divide between the left and the right. Because we don’t even try to argue the points with them anymore or try to prove them wrong on a basic level. The right believes that leftist are toddlers who choose to put their head in the sand when it comes to obvious problems in the US. So we believe it’s pointless to argue their easily disprovable opinions. While the left doesn’t believe they have to argue because they believe that all conservative stances are based on the fact that we are sexist, racist, homophobes.
An example of being automatically discounted is when a leftist knows I’m conservative, and I tell them that I believe the women’s pay gap is a myth, I am automatically deemed a sexist. No matter what I say to back up my position, the leftist just assumes that my motive is to suppress women and keep male domination. It does not matter if I show them that the stat is based on women and men across all fields and doesn’t take into account the different choices that men and women make. It won’t matter that I will say, “if you compare men and women in the same jobs with the same output and time, that women actually make more.” My opinion is automatically discounted and the argument comes to a standstill. Basically they are not discounting what is said, but who is saying it.
Now it’s quite obvious that leftist discount their opponents more often than conservatives, because leftist don’t normally choose to argue on facts, but more often emotion. Also, with their unearned moral superiority, they believe that they are so great that nothing they say can be challenged and anyone who does is evil. But I bring this up because it’s going to have to be conservatives that try and bridge the divide. Even if a leftist idea is stupid, which most of them are, you need to argue only their opinion on that specific topic and why they are wrong. You don’t need to say that leftist suck or all leftist are idiots. A conservative must simply tell them “this is why I think you are wrong and this is why I think that.”
The final tactic for bridging the left/right gap is to make sure that you are not automatically discounted during an argument. When a leftist call you a racist, sexist, bigot, or homophobe you need to stop them right there, and tell them, “you are discounting me because you don’t want to argue my premise. Stop ascribing motive to me when you have no idea what I am thinking. Please argue what I am saying, not some fake motive that makes me look like a monster.”
Do not continue a conversation after being called a name or given a motive, until you make it quite obvious to everyone listening and to your opponent, the reasons that such heinous motives are being attributed to your reasoning for your opinion. This is to make sure that the people paying attention can see your opponent’s motive and to make sure that no one believes that you are truly a sexist or racist, you just want to point out facts and truths that can improve our society.
