Talking to the other side

Some people suggest that talking to other side of the political spectrum is the right thing to do but I'm not entirely buying it. I think it depends on how far down the conspiracy rabbit hole the person has gone and whether you have to pull out facts that you thought were common knowledge. 

When Hillary Clinton used the term "deplorables" she wasn't being sufficiently PC but she wasn't wrong either because at its core the MAGA movement is about cruelty. Yes,  many in the base are part of the illiterate who have trouble naming their own governor but there is another layer that wants to make others suffer and knows better. Many are motivated by single issues like abortion or lower taxes and any bluster against the "woke" left is just a bonus. 

I gage who I can talk to based on emotional intelligence. They don't need to know history or politics as much as possess basic empathy and decency which in the end counts for much more. This is the kind of person who is open to receiving information and learning something new. 

Today's right wing movement is replete with bad faith actors who are motivated by cultural outrage which preys on the weakest people in society. They have helped talk others who are less educated into voting against their own interests and cannot be reasoned with because they are too radicalized and dogmatic to hear you out. 

These people have an agenda which is immune to inconvenient facts and so you might as well talk to the wall instead.