Why on earth are we doing this, anyway?
Why is it easier to win an election these days claiming that the apocalypse is soon to be upon us than being committed to solve concrete problems in a pragmatic way?
An opinion piece
Yeah, the real problems we face are just not very attractive. They are complex. It requires understanding some things to figure out what’s going on, maybe learn something new, and no, there are no obvious ways to solve it all quickly. And, yeah, it probably requires working together and making some compromises to solve the big issues. Climate change, institutional racism, public pension funds - big topics that affect us all, but stuff that doesn’t motivate people all that often, or spark a passionate drive amongst most people. No, people instead care about a single person who lied on their asylum application, that toilet paper is running out, fear forced vaccination, or maybe that the price of gas at the pump might go up some day - nothing anywhere near as important. But this is is the stuff that gets people up in arms.
The best way to get people going is to speak straight to their fears. The fear of loss always works better than the possibility of improving things, with us humans. The joy of getting 100€ is just not as strong as the fear of loosing 100€. It also works to make it simple, to speak to people’s instincts. Something that doesn’t require you to think, to mull things over. Something that makes you feel like you are a part of a group, an “us”, and definitely not one of “them”. Something that is easy and seems to make sense, since it plays on what you already think you know, and plays into the stereotypes in your head. It doesn’t look good for the future of solving the big things, which are just too complex for simple answers, that don’t give slick talking points, that are important to every single one of us, and might even require some personal compromise. It’s not sexy, and it’s definitely hard to sell. It’s a tough job.
So just don’t do it, don’t be constructive, don’t try to solve problems, and you’ll get your sympathizers and followers. It all leads to a competitive advantage for the fear mongerer - wether it is the desire to rip things apart, to seize power through a crack, or whatever else drives it - over someone who wants to work with arguments, facts, and solutions.
It’s not good. Especially not if you want to fight for good, to work constructively, to solve problems, instead of trying to claim authority through fear and polarization (but that is a whole other story).
What does this all mean? For me, it means that - of course - my own positions have to be based on facts and be something that I agree with morally. But it also means that it needs vision to accompany cool arguments. A good reason to do something is also a good story. People like stories.
Is this kind of vision doomed to fail, because fear is such an overwhelming feeling that it can just stand in the way of so much progress? No, I don’t think so, because there is one thing more powerful than fear, one thing that can reveal the naked lies behind false arguments, that can make fear itself harmless: laughter. Every Death Star has its weak spot, and every panic has its funny side. You just have to find it. And of course it requires strength and confidence to laugh about terrible things. But laughter can make threats fall apart. Like zombies in the first rays of light in the morning (yes, Harry Potter fans, a Ridikkulus charm is stronger than a Patronus charm). Laugh trumps hate. Fear loses its ability to kill our rationality in the face of a good joke. Laughter brings people together and lets our brains do their thing, get back to work, and be critical.
Being on The Light Side doesn’t have to be a strategic disadvantage.
(Come back next week for the next article “how to take over the world in 3 Simple Steps”)
Dieser Meinungsartikel von Nils Neumann und Adam Roe erschien erstmals als EDITORIAL zum STATTLAB Jahrbuch 2020
