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You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into. ― Ben Goldacre, Bad Science
Wonder why Harris isn't ten percentage points behind Donald Trump? However egregious the Donald is, Harris is worse. The performance records of both - if one is amenable to reason - clearly show Trump superior to Harris. That is not necessarily an endorsement of Trump. Kamala Harris is simply so bad that no person aware of the performance and positions of both - and aware of the advantages of free markets and decentralization over command economies and centralized government - could reasonably conclude Harris would be the superior President.
Those who oppose Trump and support Harris are not reaching a reasoned position. They are acting out of emotion. They either dislike Trump so much they are willing to ignore Harris's flaws or so afraid of being thought to belong to "the wrong camp" that they unthinkingly cling to Harris. Giving the issue thought and reasoning out a conclusion is simply too painful.
The arguments for Harris and against Trump are both emotion-based. Support Harris because it is brat. (What a nonsense term.) Vote Harris because "joy." Trump is "literally Hitler." So is Vance. (So was DeSantis, but he is out of political play right now, so his "literally Hitler" status is on the shelf.) Never mind that Hitler's positions (corporate socialism, lock up your political opponents, and separate people by ethnicity) were a lot closer to that of today's mainline Democrats than that of Trump or populist Republicans. Trump and Vance are the worst. They are so the worst that even killing them is acceptable. No thinking. All emotion.
How do you deal with it? I really do not know. I believe countering with an even stronger emotional appeal is counterproductive. When both sides are sufficiently demonized civil war results. Appealing to reason usually fails because you cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into.
On the other hand, appealing to reason does sometimes work. The emotional hysteria the Harris campaign depends upon is exhausting. It is also debilitating. It makes people physically sick. It is one reason so many young people today have emotional and mental problems. The Two Minute Hate is draining - and today's progressives expect it to be maintained for hours at a time. Most people eventually ask themselves whether it is worth it. Reasoning with people at that stage often works. It is the basis of the walkaway movement.
I also feel Harris's reliance upon emotion will prove less productive than the Democrats believe. Politics, media and entertainment are all industries where the ability to manipulate emotion is the coin of the realm. They are also Harris's power base - pretty much her only power base. Yet emotions are based on perception - and reality has an ugly way of intruding.
Years ago I had a boss who kept telling me, "You have to understand, perception is everything. It is all that matters." To which I would reply, "If the perception is the plane is flying straight and level at 10,000 feet and the reality is you are spinning in at 500 feet, your perceptions are going to get a reality check within a minute." I suspect the Democrats will get a reality check within 60 days.
Discussion (26)
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We a living among insane delusional people .
After Obama gave us triple the cost of medicine and a weaponized spy state that sensors , persecutes and imprisons at best , misdemeanors and innocents . Then Biden (obama 2 ) unleashed the Just Us dept and disastrous policies .
I could go on . Like I said insane delusional times . Woe is us if we can't wake these people up .
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I am confident that several of them will check in here to tell me how awful Trump is compared to Harris.
Take comfort. Insane delusional people have made up a significant portion of the population throughout history. In the past reality weeded them out pretty quickly. It still does. It just takes longer.
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Unless they are reasonable people. Then those positions tend to be the easiest to reason them out of.
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Is there a genetic component to the trait or whatever produces reason and emotion in people as two different paths for reaching what will determine individual opinion and/or behavior?
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What is different between the sexes in opinion and behaviors within cultures. It seems a major contrast in our lifetimes during the 20th century existed between the Chinese, illustrated by the preference for male children under the one-child program, while in America we had an unofficial feminist movement that has influenced opinions and behaviors regarding human reproduction.
This seems to say cultures are different and that then seems important.
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