Principles of Dialogue and Reasoned Argument |
One of the best ways to begin a more constructive political discussion is to learn someone's personal story. When we make an effort to get to know, in detail, about someone's life, we will almost always find some common experience or shared value, even with people whose opinions are antithetical to our own. If we want to understand someone's opinions, we should listen to their stories.
We need to take the time to learn about the lives of people we disagree with, the experiences that were formative in the development of their opinions, and what is important to them now — the anxieties, frustrations, and struggles of their daily lives, the events that evoke their outrage, and the feelings that inspire them.
Stories have an emotional appeal and a truth value that ideas often lack. Stories are, to some extent, unarguable. We do not often change (or open) our minds when we are exposed to different opinions and ideas. Ideas begin with stories, and when we are uncertain about what to think, we instinctively return to the stories that are the source of our ideas.
All of us have families; we were all children; many of us are parents. Most of us have jobs or hobbies that require effort,........