[Peace-discuss] Corn Festival -- RE: Sweet Corn Fest Fri & Sat!

[Laurie Solomon]

Well Robert,

An interesting point; but it is grounded in probabilities of large numbers.  It presumes that if you argue with a large enough number of persons over a long enough time, there is a probability that a few my eventually change their minds.  While this may or may not be the case, it really does not pose an effective strategy - especially when the other side has the advantage of greater resources to counter one's arguments.  As for the Ayn Rand thing, I look at that is more or less a fad where believe in it was the fashionable belief of the day - like bellbottom trousers.  Most people were never really committed to the substantive content of her work and were willing to change as the fashion as to what was "in" to believe changed.  Only a relatively few libertarians became or were true believers; and they are still so to this day.


From: Robert Kutz 
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 12:35 PM
To: Laurie Solomon 
Cc: John W. ; Stuart Levy ; Bill Strutz ; peace-discuss at anti-war.net ; davegreen48 at yahoo.com ; Carl Estabrook AWARE ; Ron Szoke ; MartyneConrad Wetzel ; dharley at illinois.edu ; Jenifer Cartwright ; Karen Medina 
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Corn Festival -- RE: Sweet Corn Fest Fri & Sat!


  Here, I guess we differ.  I do not think is as clear cut and easy a matter as brainwashing.  The mere fact that they are so easily brainwashed, so unquestioningly dogmatic and uncritical, and so inclined to come to the defense of the corporate ideology even when it is clearly against their immediate interests suggests to me that enlightenment of them would just be another form of brainwashing with a revised dogma.




To this, I can only respond: I used to read and agree strongly with Ayn Rand.

So speaking from experience, we all tend toward dogma at times, but sometimes a critical kick in the thinker is all we need. Arguing with somebody at a corn festival will never immediately change their mind, no -- but it may introduce ideas they hadn't thought of. If those ideas ferment, then that person may eventually come to change their own mind.


I think that AWARE is basically like Inception in that regard, if I may make an absurd pop-culture reference...
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