Late Thoughts Listening To Springsteen
NYT photo This was U.S. President Obama today, the day after the Donald Triumph the night before, with a little bit of campaign theory. We try really hard to persuade people that we're right and then people vote, Obama said. Salutary. Not quite true. Not quite true if by persuade the president means the process of using reason to convince others of a particular position. This includes convincing others to change their minds. I don't sense much persuasion afoot in our times. I don't know if there ever was much persuasion. Maybe there was, maybe not. But now what goes for persuasion is really engagement. And engagement has to do with likes and follows and friends. Social media in the time of engagement has no button that indicates Good Argument or Convincing or You Helped Me See Things Differently. Or, I Changed My Mind. When engagement is the goal, holding a mirror up is more effective than risking original offence incurred by trying to change a mind. When ...