Reasoning with the unreasonable

Progress is a bad word to some.  Progress can't be trusted.  Progress is of the Devil.  Progress is code-speak for an untrustworthy agenda.  Etc. Etc.  Those who cling to dogma and have their minds made-up, regardless of what information may become available will always think so.  They may choose other words, but the effect is the same;  Conversation becomes futile and you / we / all are stuck in place.

What to do?  How long shall we endure such rigidity before moving on?  Why would we continue to argue, fight, coax, teach, and attempt to lead those who refuse to listen?

Imagine a primitive tribe living along a riverbank.  For centuries they've hunted, gathered, and subsisted in a limited region and made sense of the world according to that which they've been exposed to.  Conditions begin to change, resources begin to dwindle, and one day a party of explorers sets out to find more fertile ground; And they find just that, down-river a bit.  They return to the camp and inform the rest of the party but there are some naysayers.  "This is sacred ground.  This is the world we know.  This world makes sense and we needn't seek further."  Hours turn to days, days to weeks, and so it goes.  Eventually most of the tribe moves on but the naysayers remain.

Downstream the explorers prosper, advance their understanding and find new ways to live.  But they aren't living in isolation.  The naysayers continue their way of life, which includes defecating in the water supply that runs downstream; This is a problem for those who have moved on.  The explorers have no problem figuring out why their water tastes the way it does and go upstream for a dialogue.  "Not our problem.  We've always done it this way and we're not about to change to accommodate you!" say the naysayers.

There are several ways the problem could be resolved:

• The explores could attempt to "neutralize" the situation with force.
• The explorers could continue arguing with the naysayers, but it's clear a dialogue is futile.
• The explorers could relent and move back to the original camp and forego everything they've learned and accomplished.
• The explorers could leave the naysayers alone, find a new water source, route a portion of the water source around the problem tribe, or find another similar solution.  Eventually, the naysayers will either be forced to change their ways or die-out due from depleted resources.

There's another possible outcome: The naysayers may find a way to destroy them all.  There is no guarantee that ignorance will not carry the day without vigilance and commitment from the explorers.  If the explorers are to survive and thrive, they must work together and continue the hard work of uncovering truth and crafting means that will advance their cause.  They must evolve.

As for me, I'm going to seek those who want to know more and do more for the benefit of us all and spend less time in futile argument with the unteachables.  It's tough to ignore ignorance and if we allow it, ignorance will pollute our own world.  Sometimes the best we can do is to let those hell-bent on polluting their own minds and world do so, as long as we can minimize the impact on the rest of us.  Let them drink their Kool-Aid and tell their flawed tales to themselves.  There are things to learn, work to be done, and progress to be made.  Let evolution deal with those who refuse to listen to reason and find a better way.

Peace my friends.