When I was 12 or so, I got interested in watching football. Naturally, I had questions about what was going on. I'd ask my dad, and he'd say, "Shut up and listen. Maybe you'll learn something."
Not the nicest way to talk to your kid, but it was effective. I learned what was going on in the games in short order and to this day (on the very rare occasion that I watch any football) I can still call the penalty and tell you who recovered the fumble before the ref does.
What's the point? It's below the fold.
The "shut up and listen; maybe you'll learn something" advice stayed with me after the games were over and after I abandoned football.
And I've tried very, very hard to apply it to politics. I am, after all, a blue soul surrounded by red voters in the confused state of Ohio.
I cringe when I read things or hear people accusing Bush voters of being stupid or unthinking or sheep-like. I know some of these voters, and I'm related to some of them. They're not stupid, unthinking or sheep-like. They're just deeply, recklessly ill-informed (for which I blame the media, but that's the subject of many a diary on Kos and serious efforts by Free Press, Media Matters and others).
So a few years back I realized that I would get nowhere if, when talking to these folks, I insisted that Bush was a liar or joked about what a moron he was. Instead, I decided to shut up and listen to see what I could learn. Once I started listening, I could discern the issues that really mattered to some people. I saw the absolute truth that ordinary folks are voting against their interests because, when the subject isn't politics, people have a lot to say about health care, retirement, education, and a whole lot of other issues.
From there I can open a dialogue with people by sending news articles or opinion pieces I run across that touch on these issues, or by bringing them into random conversations. For example, in 2004 I actually converted a Bush vote to one for Kerry and the way I opened the door to the dialogue was a discussion in Congress, led by Orrin Hatch, advocating remote destruction of computers for illegal downloading of music. I knew such a plan would be offensive to this person and it served as a springboard for more dialogue.
Another person I know is not yet a convert but is thinking a little differently since I told her about the bill in the House that would federalize food labeling. And the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" people I know are generally interested in my own story of how taxpayer investment allowed me to make use of my talents in a way I couldn't have done otherwise.
We're less than six months away from an incredibly important election. Grassroots activism is critical. But it's equally important that we learn how to talk to people. We know that most people agree with us on important issues. An important part of our strategy is to shut up and listen so that we can learn how to talk so that they will, at long last, listen to us.