Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
TechnographHow do you really go about changing someone's mind?
By Dan Streib
Posted: 9/28/07 Section: Opinion Columns
- Page 1 of 2 next >
A couple of weeks ago, James Loewen, professor of sociology at the University of Vermont, came to speak at Allen Hall as a part of the hall's Unit One Guest-In-Residence program. He is the author of "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong," "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism," and many other books.
The one thing that stands out from my experience of listening to and speaking with Dr. Loewen, was his ability to provoke fresh discussion and thought on issues of perception in regards to both American history and social norms. Think about that statement for a second. I really don't know if I could possibly give greater praise to someone of any viewpoint. Not even a statement like "he completely persuaded me to his line of thought," or "he changed my mind on a lot of issues," quite gives the same praise. For one thing, neither of those statements would have necessarily been true of this inquisitive figure, in regards to the persuasiveness that I found in all of the ideas that he expressed to me. I actually may not have changed my mind on certain issues facing our country after listening to him.
I say "may," because I need to think and research about the points he brought up further, and, being wrapped up in studies with 18 hours, writing columns, and still trying to have some degree of a social life, time is not a luxury I currently possess in any significant quantity.
But upon further contemplation, it becomes clear to me that no one person ever really changes another's mind. No single person can forcibly insert his or her views into any other reasonable individual's thought stream. It is always a personal decision to change one's mind on any given subject.
The final change, the final tipping point, nay, all change and transformation within one's mind must, in the end, come from one's own conscious decision, and this is something we oftentimes forget when we credit individuals for swaying our opinion.
The one thing that stands out from my experience of listening to and speaking with Dr. Loewen, was his ability to provoke fresh discussion and thought on issues of perception in regards to both American history and social norms. Think about that statement for a second. I really don't know if I could possibly give greater praise to someone of any viewpoint. Not even a statement like "he completely persuaded me to his line of thought," or "he changed my mind on a lot of issues," quite gives the same praise. For one thing, neither of those statements would have necessarily been true of this inquisitive figure, in regards to the persuasiveness that I found in all of the ideas that he expressed to me. I actually may not have changed my mind on certain issues facing our country after listening to him.
I say "may," because I need to think and research about the points he brought up further, and, being wrapped up in studies with 18 hours, writing columns, and still trying to have some degree of a social life, time is not a luxury I currently possess in any significant quantity.
But upon further contemplation, it becomes clear to me that no one person ever really changes another's mind. No single person can forcibly insert his or her views into any other reasonable individual's thought stream. It is always a personal decision to change one's mind on any given subject.
The final change, the final tipping point, nay, all change and transformation within one's mind must, in the end, come from one's own conscious decision, and this is something we oftentimes forget when we credit individuals for swaying our opinion.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Linda
posted 9/28/07 @ 12:51 PM CST
"I can be a rather tough case to persuade"
You're flattering yourself, Dan. If "Dr." Loewen's texts - an avalanche of boring, regurgitated Marxist cliches claiming to be provocative and truth-seeking - influenced your (mis)understanding of history so much, that only means that you are both extraordinarily gullible, and ignorant of what truly distinguished historical writing consists of. (Continued…)
Post a Comment