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Connecting with Conservatives

I am sure we have all experienced the phenomenon of talking to conservatives about issues and walking away thinking they have no soul… we can not understand how they can believe what they believe. We get stuck in arguments that never achieve anything productive.

Why does this happen?

We are not talking about the same issue. We may think we are both talking about welfare but we are not. When a liberal talks about welfare they think about the mother of four whose husband died and needs the welfare to survive. When conservatives talk about welfare they talk about the people that abuse the system. BOTH OF THESE GROUPS EXIST. Both liberals and conservatives know both of these groups exist. The problem is that we both use the term welfare in reference to different parts of welfare. We will get in an argument because we are not connecting.

My suggestion is the next time you find yourself talking with a conservative about an issue you do not agree on try to find your common bond. Try to connect. To continue with the welfare example… Tell them that you agree there are people abusing the welfare system (we all know there are) then ask them if they agree that there are genuinely people who need welfare to survive. All conservatives will agree with you that there are people who genuinely need and deserve welfare (except for the few who really do lack a soul). Now you have connected on an issue and can talk about possible solutions. You may disagree with the person on the best way to fix welfare, i.e. stop people abusing it but still provide it to people who need it, but at least you will both be talking about welfare the same way instead of talking about different issues.

I have found through many conversations that we can reach a common solution if we talk about the same issue. Try to stop talking circles around each other and instead try to be on the same page and using the same terminology. This will lead to much more productive discussions and will convert many conservatives to liberalism when they realize that we agree with them but have more productive solutions.

Let me know what you guys think,

Hyrum