Persuasion. The lost art of. I thought this was a nice little piece on how to respectfully and thoughtfully convey truths you believe are important to those who disagree. I am not terribly good at this, by the way, though improving with age. (I can actually remember disagreeing with my classmates as early as grade two. Not terribly gracious, as I recall, at the time. I had not yet learned the art of Socratic dialogue.)
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I agree that the art of persuasion is important to learn and to practice. I also agree that I’m still not very good at it.
I will make an effort to respect those with opposing views as long as they are engaging the debate in good faith. Sadly, I no longer believe this is the case for the vast majority of those who are of the “pro-choice” persuasion. The defeat of Motion 312, and the reasons given by MPs for voting against it, are recent examples of not engaging in good faith. Also, pretty much everything Joyce Arthur says. And there are many other examples. I am becoming convinced that we should vilify those people rather than treat them with respect and accept them in our midst. Think about this: how ought one to have treated slave owners and other supporters of the slave trade, if one lived in the southern U.S. in the 1800’s? Would it have been OK to treat them with respect and continue to do business with them, and continue to move in the same social circles as though nothing were amiss?