Having civil discussions on politics or issues in our country is important for figuring out how we can solve problems in the United States. These discussions can create common ground between people, and maybe even help find a compromise. However, when trying to have civil discussions with someone that has radically different beliefs, it can start to get less civil.
Trying to talk to someone with different political views can be difficult. That opposing person could possibly even think less of you for your beliefs. A common example of this kind of person is a Trump supporter. President Donald Trump has created a large group of supporters that will often completely ignore criticisms on the president or any evidence that questions their views. To better understand how to hold civil discussions, we must first understand how these supporters got to this point.
An article called “How To Persuade A Trump Supporter” by Karin Tamerius, talks in detail about the ideas of the halo effect and conformation bias that Trump supporters suffer from. To understand why they feel like this, Tamerius writes “Once someone supports Trump, they are unlikely to change their mind on the basis of logic or evidence alone because their gut feelings toward the president are largely fixed and positive. Negative facts and arguments about Trump will tend to be dismissed, ignored, forgotten, and disbelieved as long as a person’s gut-level intuition that he is a good guy remains unchanged.”.
Having a civil discussion with someone like this who can be so closed-minded, can be very difficult and feel borderline impossible. However, this article suggests going about persuading a Trump supporter in a very interesting way. A way that can not only be applied to Trump supporters but possibly anyone who shares different views than yourself. As the article states, “When someone you like and respect disagrees with your political assessments, it creates psychological stress. This stress is so unpleasant that most people are strongly motivated to find a way to resolve it in whatever way they can.”. There are two ways that a person can resolve it usually, looking negatively on their previous political views, or looking negatively towards you. This is why you have to get the person to respect you. You have to be kind and show that you’re knowledgable, that way if the person respects you, they will question their beliefs possibly removing their confirmation bias.
Overall, tensions in the political climate are always high today, especially on the internet. Remember the importance of civil discussions, and how it can better our society. However if you’re dealing with someone who is close-minded and radically different, remember to win their respect, and try to remove their biases.
Journalism 2.0 