Greetings, my PAT minions!
The other day, I was on the phone with my mother when my youngest sister (who is a freshman in college studying nursing) insisted that she had something to tell me. I heard my mother frantically shushing my sister in the background (a sure sign that my sister had come up with some new way to irritate me), but above it all I still heard my sister state, quite clearly, “The only reason that the United States got involved in World War II is because of racism against the Japanese.”
Well, friends, I obviously did not respond well to this particular statement. I went through a half dozen reasons why she was wrong, and she listed off a half dozen of her own arguments (several of which I am fairly certain she made up as we went along), including trying to make what I considered an apples to oranges comparison of the attack on Pearl Harbor to the attack on the USS Rueben James.
Eventually, when I had reached the point where I was sure I was going to have an aneurism, I screamed at her, “YOU’RE JUST WRONG!” At which point my sister calmly stated, “I know. I just wanted to see if I could start the argument.”
I was silent for a moment. And then I let forth a stream of profanity that modesty prevents me from repeating here.
Upon later reflection, I realized that this was not the first time someone had put forth such an absurd and false historical premise before me, and that I have had to argue my point (which I would like to believe is as close to correct as history ever allows us to be as interpreters of the art). This time I was lucky: my sister was just trying to bait me, and she did (no one likes to admit they have been bested by their younger sibling, but I can swallow my pride for the sake of posterity).
But what of all those other occasions when you are dealing with someone who sincerely believes some historical idea that you are so sure is false? How do you react? How do you put forth your own argument while still being respectful of the other person? The situation is complicated when the historical issue at hand deals with something touchy like religion or politics.
What are your thoughts readers?
Well said. Its that same type of complication that comes up in political discourse today. More often than not though, the process is as important as the conclusion. Ive found that the best way to reach out to people when discussing touchy issues is to focus on your own process by speaking the political and intellectual language of your debater. I had a very long and slightly intoxicated discussion with a libertarian a few months back that actually didn't turn into an all out brawl. He respected me more because I proved to him that I knew why he was thinking the way he did.
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