Caleb James DeLisle on Nostr: Since politics is in the air these days, I thought I would bring up The Great ...
Since politics is in the air these days, I thought I would bring up The Great Thanksgiving Political Shitshow, and how to avoid it.
It always starts with the insistence that NOBODY talk politics, but eventually someone says something "off hand" and the back-and-forth slowly escalates until everyone's shouting across the table.
You don't want to sit quietly like a monk while your cousin says things as matter-of-fact, that you think are wrong and dangerous. But you also don't want to become mired in a classless shouting match.
So how to protect your honor, while maintaining dignity:
1. Never say anything they expect you to say. - If they expect you to say it, you don't need to say it, you're not conveying information.
2. Accept their beliefs. - They're not your beliefs, but they are their beliefs, and if you're going to communicate with them, those are the beliefs that you're communicating with. The counterpoint is you can insist that they accept yours.
3. Find and focus on common ground. - You're not going to disagree on EVERYTHING, and the things which you agree on you can pay attention to, it will make you more persuasive.
3. Keep it fun. - Being angry is low effort low intelligence. Being funny is high effort high intelligence. Everybody knows at a subconscious level that politics is kind of bullshit anyway, so to the extent you can weave that into what you say, you are projecting leadership which tends to win hearts and minds.
It always starts with the insistence that NOBODY talk politics, but eventually someone says something "off hand" and the back-and-forth slowly escalates until everyone's shouting across the table.
You don't want to sit quietly like a monk while your cousin says things as matter-of-fact, that you think are wrong and dangerous. But you also don't want to become mired in a classless shouting match.
So how to protect your honor, while maintaining dignity:
1. Never say anything they expect you to say. - If they expect you to say it, you don't need to say it, you're not conveying information.
2. Accept their beliefs. - They're not your beliefs, but they are their beliefs, and if you're going to communicate with them, those are the beliefs that you're communicating with. The counterpoint is you can insist that they accept yours.
3. Find and focus on common ground. - You're not going to disagree on EVERYTHING, and the things which you agree on you can pay attention to, it will make you more persuasive.
3. Keep it fun. - Being angry is low effort low intelligence. Being funny is high effort high intelligence. Everybody knows at a subconscious level that politics is kind of bullshit anyway, so to the extent you can weave that into what you say, you are projecting leadership which tends to win hearts and minds.