Shout 'em down!

One of the most important questions in any movement, idea, philosophy is: how do we win people over? It's a question that seems lost in much of today's world, thrown away like so other reasonable things in the quest for attention. Exposure is everything. Get the word out whatever way you can. Go viral. Blow up Twitter. If enough people are made aware the correct answer to the problem with obviously be chosen.

I disagree. Moreover, I hope it doesn't work that way. The loudest voice should not rule the day. I don't think our society is best served by choosing which issues to face and which to ignore by who mount the slickest ad campaign and who is most media-savvy. We shouldn't decide to tackle only those ideas which fit comfortably into a slogan and only try to save that which is photogenic.

The counter-argument I hear and see is that it's a two-step process. First you garner the attention; then you provide the solution. While that could work, and sometimes it has, it also poses a great risk in that by the time an idea is well-known it's already divided the populace and driven away those it needs to reach with its angry rhetoric. People's minds get made up early and it's much harder to change that which is already set.

I see this most in movements attacking the status quo and pointing out the privilege of another group of people. The attack often comes before the argument and thus it's already lost. If you want the system to change, those most able to accomplish it are the people in power. Sure, if you get enough of the masses on your side you might be able to upend the power structure and affect change. But what if you could convince those who have the power now to relinquish some of it? What if you could influence to gate-keepers and visionaries to begin dismantling the privilege from the ground up? Where would that lead?

Recently the Black Lives Matter movement shouted down the most progressive presidential candidate, preventing him from giving a speech to people who had come to hear him. The point seemed to be that he wasn't progressive enough, hadn't given enough to the cause and shown his solidarity. The answer was to drown out his voice, show antagonism to the group's best ally and his supporters, and further entrench the other side's opinion that the cause was about unjust anger and unnecessary complaining. It brings attention but advances nothing.

I do understand the urge when it seems like measured discussion leads nowhere. When the powers that be ignore the message. But there has to be a better way.

The greatest success I've seen lately has come from the LGBT movement. They've largely won over the hearts and minds a great many of their previous opponents. They've won in the court of public opinion and in the laws of the land. The struggle is not over and a great many opponents are still fighting against equality, but it does feel like a tide has turned and people are moving in the right direction. How was this accomplished?

While there may have been some yelling and arguing, most of that was in the past. It seems like things changed on two fronts. One, people changed on an individual level. It became about LGBT members and allies talking to their friends and families. Having discussions, simply existing. Politicians being swayed by conversations instead of petitions. Instead of fighting for a specific action or changing of society it was about expanding understanding and acceptance on a human level.

And perhaps more importantly it was about educating the next generation. While it's normally the old guard that holds the reins, it's the young who set the agenda. Those in power become very adept and reading the winds of change and enough of them will realize when a shift is coming and get out ahead of it - the better to stay in power. Instead of telling them their days are numbered, point out their chance to keep their crown by leading the people where they already want to go.

I wish it were about logic, fairness, an honest appraisal of history and unbiased look at the future. But that's not what wins the day. Nor does the squeaky wheel always get the grease - sometimes it gets replaced and thrown away. If you want to change the world, stop yelling about it. Especially stop shouting down those who are in position to help you. Instead, make friends with the enemy. They'll find it much harder to fight against their allies.