A protester holds an indication throughout a march from the Capitol to Washington Park in help of abortion rights in Salt Lake Metropolis on Tuesday, Could 3, 2022. Mengshin Lin, Deseret Information
“They don’t actually wish to save lives, they only wish to management your physique.”
Notably, this accusation has arisen over the previous few years on each side of the political spectrum, relying on whether or not we’re contemplating COVID-19 mitigation measures — like insurance policies requiring masks or vaccination — or opposition to abortion. Each instances exemplify the troubling pattern of misrepresenting others by changing their acknowledged motivations with an simply defeated caricature (generally known as a “straw man”).
Although, after all, these two points differ in some ways, conflicts over abortion and COVID-19 mandates come up largely out of two sides every insisting on widely known items. Specifically, these are the precept of particular person bodily autonomy (“my physique, my selection”) and the social want to guard the weak amongst us, particularly from demise (“masks up, save lives” / “abortion is violence”).
Now, establishing an argument that acknowledges these two items and makes an attempt to navigate towards a decision is undoubtedly laborious work. It requires weighing items, contemplating tough instances, and finally making powerful choices. It will be a lot simpler, reality be informed, if there weren’t two items pulling in several instructions. Issues can be a lot less complicated if a type of items had been, in actual fact, a farce.
Such a simplification is precisely what we’ve seen and heard over the previous few years.
Some opponents of vaccine and masks mandates have insisted that the mitigation measures will not be what their advocates declare. Management, they posit, isn’t only a essential technique of implementing these measures — relatively, the measures are a pretense for buying management. Theories have circulated that the “vaccine” is actually a supply mechanism for a microchip, whereas masks are truly an early step in a bigger conditioning plan of social management hatched by the worldwide elite performing a “nice reset.”
Likewise, some abortion-rights advocates have insisted that anti-abortion speaking factors are a smokescreen. It’s not actually about saving infants, one viral Twitter submit claims. In truth, the “pro-life” purpose is to manage individuals with uteruses. And as they succeed, protesters donning purple cloaks recommend, we draw ever nearer towards a theocratic way forward for obedience to non secular authorities that may rival dystopian novels.
Saving lives could sound good, they every warn, however don’t fall for it — they’re not telling you what that is actually about.
In each instances, the strain between two items is changed by a no brainer choice between bodily autonomy and nightmarish totalitarianism. And importantly, the alleged secret motivation — specifically, authoritarian management — distorts the opposing group’s argument so wildly that the depiction turns into laughably unrecognizable to them; those self same opponents overlook themselves within the caricature in any respect. Though that group has extra cogent explanations of their motivations, they've already been preemptively dismissed as misleading trickery, one thing to be saved safely exterior of the echo chamber.
Higher conversations will be had.
Arduous questions can and needs to be raised by every group in regards to the implications, effectiveness and consistency of their opponents’ positions — in addition to of their very own. Good dialog and argumentation don’t shrink back from disagreements and even the conclusion that somebody is egregiously unsuitable. Nonetheless, justifiably reaching such a conclusion virtually all the time includes participating with the rationale provided by that particular person.
Efficiently arguing that somebody is unsuitable takes much more work than dismissing them as disingenuous from the outset.
In fact, there are occasions when suspicion is suitable. Ours shouldn't be an ideal world the place each particular person precisely represents their pursuits (aware or in any other case) up entrance, and skepticism generally is a great tool.
Nonetheless, as any carpenter, mechanic, or prepare dinner will let you know, anybody software has restricted utility and shouldn’t be used for all the pieces. If suspicion turns into the predominate mode of interplay with others, we jeopardize significant social discourse and danger the proliferation of fear-mongering, echo chambers and conspiracy theories. It’s time that we put different argumentative instruments to work extra usually.
Brandon R. Peterson is an affiliate professor (lecturer) on the College of Utah within the Division of Philosophy.