What part of ______ don't they understand?
Everything. They're acting based on emotion. No amount of logic will have any effect on them. Here's a procedure/form letter like thing I'm working on, maybe someone can try it out over there? I don't have time right now.
It feels good to win an argument against someone you know is wrong. I know I've tried it many times before. Most people connect their political affiliations and what those are claimed to stand for to their core identity. "*I* am a _________(D/R/G/L)." Emotionally they "feel" that any attack on a party or their beliefs is an ad hominem attack on their self. Emotions react faster than reason and logic, so an emotional response blocks any rational thought. The mind cannot emotionally tell the difference between an imagined attack and a physical attack, so they emotionally respond to a verbal attack just as you would emotionally respond to a physical initiation of force against your body. With a lot of practice and willpower a person can control their emotions. If someone has never taken the time to practice and control their emotions then logic and reason will have no effect on their beliefs. Most people do not know how and have not taken the time to learn how to control their emotions. Therefore most of the time attacking in any way something that people hold as part of their identity will make them emotionally reject any argument, even if it is true.
I now believe the best way to reliably change people's beliefs is by subtly directing their good intentions to new beliefs. Everything everyone does and believes is because they have good intentions, so identify their good intentions and start with agreeing on those.
The general idea is to "pace and lead". Pace, like in a jogging pace, means meeting them at their current pace of ideas so you can talk meaningfully, otherwise you're running too fast for them. When you have paced them and they feel good about talking with you then you are in 'rapport' with them. People feel good when they are in rapport so they will try to be courteous to not break rapport by breaking their pace with you. Then you can try going a little further and they will try to keep their pace with you to keep talking. If they they follow then you are leading them, and you can start leading the way back to liberty. If not then drop back down until you have enough rapport.
Going straight to liberty can be difficult for most people, so you need to go slowly along a path that they can follow. The steps on the path to liberty are:
1. Wanting to Believe: Everybody has good intentions and wants to do things that make them real. So agree that anything that can make those good intentions happen is good. Since everyone wants to do good then we can agree that things that do the least bad and the most good should be done.
2. Becoming Open to Believe: We can agree that since no one knows everything then maybe there are things that we haven't yet thought of that make our good intentions happen with the least bad.
3. Currently Believing: Be aware that beliefs in liberty come into conflict with beliefs that require initiating force, so those beliefs must be let go of to move on to liberty. It is critical to pace people's beliefs that are holding them down so that you can help show them the way to liberty, otherwise you might break your pace with them and lose rapport.
4. Becoming Open to Doubt: Becoming open to doubt a belief can be difficult for someone who has held on to it for a long time and doesn't know that it can be let go of quickly. Find the good intention of the belief, and then recognize that there could be many ways of accomplishing that good intention.
5. The 'Museum of Personal History'- Remembering What We 'Used to' Believe: It's easier to become open to doubt a belief in some emotional states than in others. Getting into a good emotional state before approaching these beliefs is very important. Try remembering the feeling of having old beliefs that you now know are no longer true. Remember jolly old saint Nick and how you felt about him as a child and maybe your beliefs today are in a different part of your heart.
6. Trust: Trust is an essential part of moving forward with your beliefs. Trust is an "assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something." "People trust, for instance, that a person will 'be true to his word.' or that 'things will turn out for the best.' ... Emotionally, trust is related to hope. ... The feeling of trust, however, is often stronger than hope. It has to do with the expectation that something will happen, rather than simply the belief that it could happen. Trust, in fact, is often something we must rely on when we have no proof. In this sense, trust extends beyond belief to the level of identity or even spiritual experience. In the natural cycle of belief change, 'trust' is typified by a state that allows us to go beyond our beliefs; to the state from which our beliefs are formed." Maybe ask them that if there were someone that has consistently been dedicated and correct on liberty if they would maybe trust that person. (Maybe find someone they respect that will lead them to the right path. Maybe Gandhi, who was actually pretty close to libertarian.)
(Parts from the book "Sleight of Mouth", on "conversational belief change")
While I haven't empirically tested this yet, I have tried the other way and it has not worked.
