When in doubt, yell
In a debate, the volume of one's voice is often inversely proportional to the integrity of one's premise ...
-------------------------------------------------
Seems like the statements I hear people asserting most strenuously these days, whether through all-caps posts in their blogs, the size of their picket signs, or the amplitude of their vocal cords, are also the statements I consider to be the most tenuous. Here's a sampling of some of the arguments I've encountered in the last month or so:
- EVOLUTION IS SCIENTIFIC FACT, CREATION IS AN UNSCIENTIFIC MYTH
- THE DOCTINE OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE APPEARS IN THE US CONSTITUTION
- THE SUPREME COURT IS DOING ITS JOB WHEN IT ACTS INDEPENDENTLY AND MAKES LAW
- GLOBAL WARMING IS CAUSED BY MAN AND WILL BE CATOSTROPHIC
- GOD DOES NOT EXIST
- LIFE DOES NOT BEGIN AT CONCEPTION
- THE BIBLE IS A FAIRY TALE AND HAS BEEN PROVEN WRONG
- THE UNITED STATES IS DESIGNED ONLY TO WORK WHEN ITS POPULATION IS LIMITED TO WHITE EUROPEAN RACES
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
My purpose here isn't to deal with any of these topics directly (I'll tackle some of these in subsequent posts). It is simply to say that each pronouncement was delivered in a manner that presupposed it was irrefutable - that only an ignoramus would seriously dispute these things. Thus, whether you agree or disagree with any of the above statements isn't the point here. The point is that what one person considers to be fact is often subject to considerable debate.
I know what you're thinking right about now: Duh!
Yeah, this isn't exactly rocket science - this newsflash that people tend to disagree about stuff. But what I find amusing is that often the more tenuous the proposition, the more inclined the person will be to shout it in the hopes of blasting their opponents into submission through sheer decibels rather than the force of the argument itself. I've seen this many times in business - the weaker the position during negotiations, the more likely to see bulging veins in the neck and screamed ultimatums. Conversely, I've often noticed in business and elsewhere that the one secure in his position generally doesn't need to shout.
Thus, when I encountered this definition of the word positive earlier this week*, I immediately fell in love with it:
Positive (adj.): To be mistaken at the top of one's voice.
It comes from a book published in 1911 by Ambrose Bierce called The Devil's Dictionary and sums up in nine words what I've taken more than four hundred to convey in this post.
Yelling has its place - sometimes it just feels good to vent. But I've learned through my own battle scars that it is rarely persuasive. Indeed, it's often counterproductive and merely tells the person you are debating that you've run out of ammunition and are now shooting blanks.
* Thanks to Hilda Hardcastle of Bath, ME for sharing this via one of her posts at amazon.com based on a book review I wrote.
