Politics is the Social Science of Discussing Political Beliefs w/o Offending People

I am a Ron Paul volunteer. I've learned a lot about Politics as I've traveled the country, talked to people, and even canvased neighborhoods. "Politics" might be the process of running government, or groups of people, but to be good at politics is a whole 'nother aspect. To be good, you must learn how to communicate your ideas without putting down the ideas of others. Otherwise communication is broken and progress is prevented.

I noticed a lot of Ron Paul supporters, Occupy supporters, and people in general, don't know how to communicate. Every "debate" turns into a fight, or starts as a fight, with attempts to put down, belittle, or de-humanize those in the conversation. This isn't just an Internet thing, I notice this in real life. If you are trying to spread your message and hope to "convert people" then calling them bad or evil or stupid, etc. isn't going to do any of that. It is a huge waste of time, and only benefits your ego by making you feel superior. It does not benefit the political process or the country, or each other. And it certainly does not benefit your message.

Beyond politics, economy, health, or even how we grow our food, what we must reform first is how we treat each other. Even those you "don't agree with." We need to treat each other as human beings, as we wish to be treated, with respect. You don't have to agree to respect someone to show them some level of decency.

I'm going to give you an example from my canvasing efforts:

I never talk bad about another candidate. I typically say something like, "Why do you like that candidate?" Then talk about that concept, whatever it is. I came up to a house with a couple who were "leaning towards Cain." I asked them what they like about Cain, then turned that into a conversation about Ron Paul, sharing information that I thought those people would like to know. We ended up having a positive conversation about Ron Paul and about those concepts in general. I treated them like people, not enemies, not votes, just people.

Now, if I were to have taken the approach of trying to tell them why Cain was bad, or wrong, first, I would have insulted them immediately (by inferring they've made a stupid choice), and two I would have spent my time talking about a candidate I don't support. It would have led to an argument, at best, it would have been a conversation about Cain. Why would I want to do that?

Another example comes from posting in the Occupy Forum, where there are a lot of "Ron Paul Haters" and a lot of aggressive Ron Paul Supporters. Every discussion turns into fights. Instead of talking about the concepts or positions, people talk about each other, "How can you believe that?" "You just think this way-or-that" "You-you-you...."

Instead of getting in fights (I admit, I'm not perfect, but as I focus on these ideas I get better real quick), I just talked about the concepts and ideas, and the response was positive:

http://occupywallst.org/forum/ron-paul-mic-checked-in-keene-nh-just-20-minutes-a/#comment-405680

I was talking to a farmer friend of mine about communication. He is a very strict environmentalist, and he was saying how that justifies him getting mad at people who don't care.

I told him, "If you really care about the environment you need to learn to talk to those who don't."

Basically, if the "problem" is people who don't understand or care about a concern, how is attacking them going to solve the problem? Don't you want them on your side? Treat them like people, try to actually understand where they are coming from, and do your best to communicate.

Know when someone isn't open to what you are sharing and move on. Don't get caught up in a fight (then you can't find the next person that might actually be open to what you are doing). Don't waste your time getting caught up in the negativity of those you disagree with. If you disagree with them move on, or try to have a conversation that is productive and respectful.

I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying it is worth working on.