...but slow to accept the facts? That is, If they ever accept the facts at all.
It occurred to me that the reason that so many accept the claim that Social Security is going broke despite the facts that say otherwise, and that climate change denial is true, despite the facts that say otherwise, and more, is that they tacitly accept as a given the overarching right wing theme that "they" are victims of a "liberal" conspiracy.
That is, underlying all of the lunatic themes of the right wing is the paranoia promoted in a united campaign by the right-wing commentators, politicians, talk show hosts, and the right-wing media.
The way to counteract right wing propaganda is, first, to avoid using the right wing "trigger" words in presenting the facts of the issues.
Second, keep progressive points of view simple, direct, and brief. Avoid mind-numbing charts and graphs, that are often inaccurate, if not totally irrelevant.
Avoid using examples to promote the Democratic Party that, in fact, promote the right-wing agenda. For example, pointing out how well the stock market is doing under a Democratic president undermines the criticism of "privatizing" Social Security. or at least diverting some of a person's retirement funds into the stock market. How so? Just point out that the stock market was booming in 1928, and then "crashed" in 1929. Then there is the example of Enron stock that many employees held in their retirement funds.
In other words, Social Security is a much more secure investment than the stock market.
Finally, Democrats should get on the same page. Whereas the right wing uses the same verbiage and promotes the same themes, the Democrats sound confused and befuddled by being all over the map with their pronouncements and often using the same "trigger" words used by the right, as well.
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