Coffee with Sarah Palin

I want to listen, to attempt to understand where the she is coming from, as famed UC Berkeley cognitive linguist George Lakoff does in his bestseller Don't Think of an Elephant!  Over years of study, Lakoff has attempted to divine the deeply held beliefs that underlie the conservative and liberal mind.  And with this knowledge, Lakoff claims, we can come to understand how to better communicate our values to people with such vastly different beliefs "" this will win the election, and convince those unconvinced by facts.

So perhaps I could listen to Palin, and try to understand her.  Rather than assume her to be "insane"- or "wrong,"- I can try to see her point of view.

But then, I think of the Dude, so set in his position, so entrenched in his ideology that he has no desire to listen himself.  Our hour long conversation was a monologue.  I wasn't able "" nor did I try "" to get a word in edgewise.

What good does listening do if both parties are not willing to change their minds?

And as my father, who grew up under the shadow of WWII reminded me, what good would listening to the Nazis do?

After 8 years of polarization under Bush, which was a direct result of his refusal to be persuaded by logic or facts, how do we attempt to talk again? 

Instead of being baffled and frightened by Palin and her followers, by the Dude and his true believers, by fundamentalists the world over, how do we talk about issues, about values, about reality?

 To listen or to yell?

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