I'm curious as to how people feel about political issues. I'm not so interested in their opinions but rather on their feelings.
I find that often people present their opinions as facts, and as a result very little discussion can take place. Then it is simply a disagreement of who is right and who is wrong or a debate on who has the better evidence to support their position. While occasionally entertaining and enlightening, I find that opinion based discussions says more about a person's perceptions than it does about the person.
If you want to know about the person, then you have to go deeper. Feelings reflect our values and how we prioritize our values. You can't argue how a person feels is right or wrong because nobody chooses how they feel; that is generally based on their own personal experiences. Feelings are also not very susceptible to persuasion. As a marketing instructor I had once stated, "You can only persuade people to feel more strongly about what they already feel, you can't persuade them to feel differently than what they already feel." Only through new experiences can a person come to feel differently.
If you explore feelings, then you can explore the underlying values and experiences that shape them.
So what I want to do is provide a list of political scenarios and I want people to share how they feel about each scenario; sharing their actual emotions rather than opinions. If you want to go deeper you can share experiences that you feel gave shape to those feelings. If you have to give your opinion then please do so in a different colored font.
1. A teenage woman chooses to have an abortion.
2. A boy chains his dog to a fence and invites other boys to throw rocks at it.
3. A mother campaigns to have a popular book removed from the local library because she finds its content offensive.
4. A business owner refuses to serve a customer because of the color of their skin.
5. A brutal serial killer is going to be executed.
6. A college decides to allow students to carry firearms on campus provided they have the appropriate permits.
7. A man is denied a procedure that would save one of his legs because he does not possess adequate health insurance.
8. An illegal alien who was raised in the country from when they were 1 year-old provides a fake social security number to get a job.
9. Two people of the same sex choose to get married and adopt children together.
10. A public school teacher starts every class with a prayer.
Now since I am asking other people to share, I will put myself out there and disclose how I feel about these issues first.
1. A teenage woman chooses to have an abortion.
I feel disgust towards the idea of abortion. I feel pity towards any woman that has to make that sort of decision. I feel grateful that I am male and I would never be put in that position.
2. A boy chains his dog to a fence and invites other boys to throw rocks at it.
I feel anger and resentment towards anyone who would needlessly hurt any living creature. However, I also feel a sense of pride that people should be free to do whatever they want with their own property.
3. A mother campaigns to have a popular book removed from the local library because she finds its content offensive.
I feel incredible resentment towards any person who would try to censor material.
4. A business owner refuses to serve a customer because of the color of their skin.
I feel very neutral in this scenario.
5. A brutal serial killer is going to be executed.
I feel anger towards a person who would hurt others, but I also feel disappointment that they would be executed.
6. A college decides to allow students to carry firearms on campus provided they have the appropriate permits.
I am fearful of the idea of students being armed.
7. A man is denied a procedure that would save one of his legs because he does not possess adequate health insurance.
I feel frustration and anger at the system.
8. An illegal alien who was raised in the country from when they were 1 year-old provides a fake social security number to get a job.
I feel sympathy for such an individual and hope that they will not be caught.
9. Two people of the same sex choose to get married and adopt children together.
I feel elated at the thought of more love and commitment in the world.
10. A public school teacher starts every class with a prayer.
I worry for the children who would feel pressured to pray.
I find that often people present their opinions as facts, and as a result very little discussion can take place. Then it is simply a disagreement of who is right and who is wrong or a debate on who has the better evidence to support their position. While occasionally entertaining and enlightening, I find that opinion based discussions says more about a person's perceptions than it does about the person.
If you want to know about the person, then you have to go deeper. Feelings reflect our values and how we prioritize our values. You can't argue how a person feels is right or wrong because nobody chooses how they feel; that is generally based on their own personal experiences. Feelings are also not very susceptible to persuasion. As a marketing instructor I had once stated, "You can only persuade people to feel more strongly about what they already feel, you can't persuade them to feel differently than what they already feel." Only through new experiences can a person come to feel differently.
If you explore feelings, then you can explore the underlying values and experiences that shape them.
So what I want to do is provide a list of political scenarios and I want people to share how they feel about each scenario; sharing their actual emotions rather than opinions. If you want to go deeper you can share experiences that you feel gave shape to those feelings. If you have to give your opinion then please do so in a different colored font.
1. A teenage woman chooses to have an abortion.
2. A boy chains his dog to a fence and invites other boys to throw rocks at it.
3. A mother campaigns to have a popular book removed from the local library because she finds its content offensive.
4. A business owner refuses to serve a customer because of the color of their skin.
5. A brutal serial killer is going to be executed.
6. A college decides to allow students to carry firearms on campus provided they have the appropriate permits.
7. A man is denied a procedure that would save one of his legs because he does not possess adequate health insurance.
8. An illegal alien who was raised in the country from when they were 1 year-old provides a fake social security number to get a job.
9. Two people of the same sex choose to get married and adopt children together.
10. A public school teacher starts every class with a prayer.
Now since I am asking other people to share, I will put myself out there and disclose how I feel about these issues first.
1. A teenage woman chooses to have an abortion.
I feel disgust towards the idea of abortion. I feel pity towards any woman that has to make that sort of decision. I feel grateful that I am male and I would never be put in that position.
2. A boy chains his dog to a fence and invites other boys to throw rocks at it.
I feel anger and resentment towards anyone who would needlessly hurt any living creature. However, I also feel a sense of pride that people should be free to do whatever they want with their own property.
3. A mother campaigns to have a popular book removed from the local library because she finds its content offensive.
I feel incredible resentment towards any person who would try to censor material.
4. A business owner refuses to serve a customer because of the color of their skin.
I feel very neutral in this scenario.
5. A brutal serial killer is going to be executed.
I feel anger towards a person who would hurt others, but I also feel disappointment that they would be executed.
6. A college decides to allow students to carry firearms on campus provided they have the appropriate permits.
I am fearful of the idea of students being armed.
7. A man is denied a procedure that would save one of his legs because he does not possess adequate health insurance.
I feel frustration and anger at the system.
8. An illegal alien who was raised in the country from when they were 1 year-old provides a fake social security number to get a job.
I feel sympathy for such an individual and hope that they will not be caught.
9. Two people of the same sex choose to get married and adopt children together.
I feel elated at the thought of more love and commitment in the world.
10. A public school teacher starts every class with a prayer.
I worry for the children who would feel pressured to pray.
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