A friend and former colleague posted a graphic on Facebook with a quote from Mark Twain: “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.” I commented with, “Ain’t it the truth,” and promptly shared the graphic on my own page. There were just a few comments on the various threads of this post, and all were along the lines of mine. The fact that there were more reshares than comments speaks louder than the comments.
Not surprisingly folks on both sides of any of the issues polarizing our populace these days love this quote and believe it applies perfectly to the “idiots” that believe what we don’t. Pick any of the contentious topics of our current and recent times: climate change, masks, vaccines, Israel or Palestine, the 2020 election. Ukraine, January 6th, conservative or liberal, abortion, gay marriage, woke, white privilege, shoplifting, guns, immigration, … dang the list is endless. If you are totally sure and committed to your view on any of these issues, this Mark Twain quote applies to those who don’t agree with you. Pro-life? No amount of evidence will ever persuade an “idiot” that think that it is a woman’s right to choose. Believe that the US is in the grips of systemic racism? No amount of evidence will ever persuade an “idiot” that thinks that it is not so. Climate change? How do you convince an “idiot” that thinks it is all bunk? How do convince an “idiot” that it is, in fact, all bunk. I could craft similar sentences for either side of all of these issues. This is exactly what polarization is. Whoever disagrees with us is an idiot and no amount of reasoning or evidence will ever convince them. The evidence for the side we don’t believe is simply fake news.
Evidence?
Yes evidence. Evidence should be indisputable. Shouldn’t it? Part of the problems is that “evidence” is fabricated and disseminated with great efficiency. We believe what we want, heck, it is an inalienable right isn’t it. We seek out sources that support and verify our beliefs that others are challenging. Might they be right? No way… they’re idiots who ignore any of the facts or rational arguments we offer up.
The amazing part of all this is that previous paragraph applies to whatever side of whatever issue you are passionate about. That is both funny and sad.
Another funny aspect of this is that when I was googling the Mark Twain quote, I ran across a link to the Australian Associated Press fact checking page that concluded that Mark Twain never made this quote. So, the very quote that literally everyone agrees with may not be accurately attributed to the great American author. I could use this as a perfect micro case in whatever it is I am expounding about in this post. First, if the quote is really from Mark Twain our friends in Australia have cast doubt on its authenticity. After all, their website, AAP Factcheck, has the subtitle: Trusted, Accurate, Impartial. On the other hand, if the Australians have it right is the message any less valid because it is not from Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens or whatever his name is? Crazy isn’t it.
If not crazy, it is convoluted and confusing. This is why it easier in some cases to simply take an extreme view held by a community we are part of or simply is a basic belief or inclination.
Me? My advice? Consider both sides of an issue. Like a High School debate class, learn enough to be able to argue both sides. Then decide based on your best judgement.
In closing, here is another couple of quotes to put things in perspective. One is from Mark Twain as far as I know. The other is dubiously attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
