This Obama quote should be carved in stone somewhere

[MissMarple]

30. Good, more heart, less logic. Logic doesn't quickly change minds and hearts.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0403/Slamming-social-Darwinism-Obama-reignites-debt-clash-with-GOP

“It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who's willing to work for it, a place where prosperity doesn't trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class,” Obama continued. “And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that's built to last – education and training, research and development, our infrastructure – it is a prescription for decline.”

We need more appealing to patriotism, religious principle, being an American, and what is really at the roots of our freedom, our country. People react initially through emotion and instinct, then they use "reason" to justify what they think. We all tend to place a different emphasis on an array of values that we as humans have. Conservatives care about people and value fairness but not exactly like liberals do. They value loyalty to their groups, respect for authority, and religious faith as much as care and fairness. Then there is that libertarian thing about freedom that seems to have transcended in their thinking since Ronnie Reagan demonized government.

The people who really want to rule the world know conservative language and can manipulate them very well. We just need to learn their language and how they weigh the values that we all have. Logic can only be applied if you get their attention first. And I don't mean hitting them over the head.

Oddly, we seem to be in the minority. We tend to be individuals who happen to work well in groups, we respect authority much less and that really bothers people who value that...a lot.

Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist, is well worth a good look. Just don't get your knickers all in a twist because he likes conservatives, too. And he can explain why he likes conservatives, and why we all need each other. He also quite clearly explains that we all think we are right in how we view things, and that we can explain why, or at least try. "Well, because, why can't you see that?" is sometimes all we can come up with. I think he goes farther than Lakoff.

So, more heart, more kindness, less logic, less judgementalism. ...all around. "We are all going to be here a while, can't we just all get along?"

http://righteousmind.com/

So, exiting the soapbox...