While extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue, this for some reason is precisely how it is seen by the popular culture. As such, it may often be useful to wrap up ones ideas in moderate sounding rhetoric whether or not the actual ideas are moderate in and of themselves. Below I've listed a number of suggestions on this.
1.) FRAME YOURSELF AS A MODERATE: The human mind is very suggestible and can be triggered to think things by certain cues. Use words such as "moderate," "reasonable," "pragmatic," and "practical" to describe your positions.
2.) DEFINE YOUR OPPOSITION AS EXTREME: Use words such as "radical," "extreme," "unrealistic," "unpractical," "ideologue," and "far-left" to describe your opposition. Always focus on the more extreme elements on your opponents view and point out how reasonable people do not hold to these views.
3.) CONCEAL YOUR IDEOLOGY: Every thinking person holds to some ideology, but for some reason it is now viewed as a negative. Anyone who holds to anything with certainty is now viewed as unsophisticated in today's irrational post-modern culture. Because of this, it is wise to actively avoid using labels to define yourself.
4.) UNMASK YOUR OPPONENTS IDEOLOGY: Point out how your opponent thinks something because of his ideology and not for pragmatic considerations. By objectifying the ideology you can treat it as something not to be taken seriously.
5.) APPEAL TO PRAGMATISM: Argue that what you are suggesting is a pragmatic means to achieve some end. Only focus more on the pragmatic nature of the proposal rather than on the end you want to achieve with it.
Pragmatists are the useful idiots of ideologues, only they don't realize it. To be pragmatic means they have to be pragmatic in the service of some ideology or some end, only self-styled pragmatists don't realize this.
6.) USE DOUBLESPEAK: Hide your true intent behind rhetoric that appears to be more moderate and avoids talking about unpopular specifics. The specifics can be figured out by people focusing on the meaning, but will not be readily noticed by the average person hearing the idea passively.
7.) USE A NON-OFFENSIVE TONE: Use a tone of voice that is laid back and relaxed. Never get angry or riled. That indicates that you have hard values you are fighting for, which might get you labeled you as "extreme" or an "ideologue." Using a non-offensive tone however can put your agenda on stealth mode.
8.) SUBTLY GOAD YOUR OPPONENT: Casually step on specific toes to elicit a hostile response while you keep your calm. The buttons you press should be subtle and only noticeable by the specific audiences who hold to the views that either you are expounding or you are arguing against. By keeping this activity subtle you can feign innocence and pretend that you did not mean to offend.
While extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue, this for some reason is precisely how it is seen by the popular culture. As such, it may often be useful to wrap up ones ideas in moderate sounding rhetoric whether or not the actual ideas are moderate in and of themselves. Below I've listed a number of suggestions on this.
1.) FRAME YOURSELF AS A MODERATE: The human mind is very suggestible and can be triggered to think things by certain cues. Use words such as "moderate," "reasonable," "pragmatic," and "practical" to describe your positions.
2.) DEFINE YOUR OPPOSITION AS EXTREME: Use words such as "radical," "extreme," "unrealistic," "unpractical," "ideologue," and "far-left" to describe your opposition. Always focus on the more extreme elements on your opponents view and point out how reasonable people do not hold to these views.
3.) CONCEAL YOUR IDEOLOGY: Every thinking person holds to some ideology, but for some reason it is now viewed as a negative. Anyone who holds to anything with certainty is now viewed as unsophisticated in today's irrational post-modern culture. Because of this, it is wise to actively avoid using labels to define yourself.
4.) UNMASK YOUR OPPONENTS IDEOLOGY: Point out how your opponent thinks something because of his ideology and not for pragmatic considerations. By objectifying the ideology you can treat it as something not to be taken seriously.
5.) APPEAL TO PRAGMATISM: Argue that what you are suggesting is a pragmatic means to achieve some end. Only focus more on the pragmatic nature of the proposal rather than on the end you want to achieve with it.
Pragmatists are the useful idiots of ideologues, only they don't realize it. To be pragmatic means they have to be pragmatic in the service of some ideology or some end, only self-styled pragmatists don't realize this.
6.) USE DOUBLESPEAK: Hide your true intent behind rhetoric that appears to be more moderate and avoids talking about unpopular specifics. The specifics can be figured out by people focusing on the meaning, but will not be readily noticed by the average person hearing the idea passively.
7.) USE A NON-OFFENSIVE TONE: Use a tone of voice that is laid back and relaxed. Never get angry or riled. That indicates that you have hard values you are fighting for, which might get you labeled you as "extreme" or an "ideologue." Using a non-offensive tone however can put your agenda on stealth mode.
8.) SUBTLY GOAD YOUR OPPONENT: Casually step on specific toes to elicit a hostile response while you keep your calm. The buttons you press should be subtle and only noticeable by the specific audiences who hold to the views that either you are expounding or you are arguing against. By keeping this activity subtle you can feign innocence and pretend that you did not mean to offend.
