Reply #7: I have had this exact discussion with my wife... [View All]

when I tell her "Bush is a war criminal" she understands it and discusses it in intellectual terms. If I tried to tell that to my mother-in-law, who still happens to think that Hussein has WMDs, I might as well be talking to a brick wall.

I'd like to get the OPs opinion on explaining without sounding fruity, but as for me, I have given up trying to explain to people a lot of things. It is too frustrating and has cost me a lot of friends and family. People are supposed to think for themselves, but they don't.

IMO you are supposed to learn to think independently in college, but what i have seen at my school is an effective method of brainwashing which i have discussed in another thread.

Remember, a lot of people are not exposed to the information we know how to access. I think of my duty as trying to get others to expose themselves to the information they are not getting. It helps if you read a lot and can remember where you have read something. I also try to remember that, yes, at one point, I too was a conservative and became a liberal/progressive/socialist/commie pinko bastard only after intensely studying history, politics, social theory, advertising, the law, government policy, and other societies for several years. But if someone would rather believe the lies, there is not much anyone can do. We tend to flock to those who will support our ideas and worldview. Hell, that's why I am at DU :)