On Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:29:07 -0600 Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> writes:
>
>
> Jim Farmelant wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Since that is an argument that many rightwingers would accept,
> > I think it might be a good place to start when discussing
> > abortion rights with them.
>
> Why wouid one want to argue about abortion with right-wingers? And
> if
> one did, why would one want to advance arguments to persuade the
> right-wingers to change their judgment _rather_ than arguments to
> persuade bystanders (some of whom already believe in abortion
> rights) to
> become active in the struggle to achieve them.
As a general rule, the engagement of arguments with right-wingers over abortion or other major public issues is probably not the best use that one can make of one's time and resources. Most of the time, it is more productive to invest one's time and resources in the mobilization of people who are already on one's side, or who are leaning towards one's side of the issues into action.
However, there are sometimes situations where it does become worthwhile to attempt to engage right-wingers in arguments. That would, I think, be so in cases where the two sides are fairly evenly matchized in political strength, and where most of the people on one's own side who can be mobilized, have been already mobilized. In situations like that, it then makes sense to engage the right-wingers, not with the expectation that one can change the minds of most of them or even a sizable minority of them, but just a few, since in the kinds of situations that I have described, if you can tip just a few right-wingers our way that can be enough to change the whole political dynamic in our favor.
>
> Left politics is neither a courtroom nor a university seminar, the
> only
> contexts in which arguments on this or most issues might make a
> difference. Left goals are achieved only by mobilizing a minority
> to
> create enough public excitement to give the impression of a majority
> in
> action. Then the number of semi-private conversations on major
> issues
> increase rapidly in number, with the result that the minority
> raising
> the disturbance, though still a minority, becomes a much larger one
> thereby generating more continuous semi-private (and probably more
> inofrmed) conversations resulting in larger and larger rallies,
> strikes,
> petitions, marches, riots, over-crowding of local jails,
> interference
> with normal working of schools, local courts, city councils,
> rush-hour
> traffic, thereby moving important conservative leaders to realize
> that
> public order depends on absorbing and muffling the unrest throug
> serious
> reforms. Nowhere in all of this, on abortion or any other topic, do
> the
> arguments Jim & Andie are discussing become of any importance.
>
> Carrol
>
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>
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