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Blame As Persuasion: Use With Caution
In previous articles I've written about using superstition and people's beliefs as a means to persuade. The term 'everything happens for a reason' is one of these concepts; 'there are no accidents' is another. If you've read these articles, you're already familiar with the power that they can hold in persuasion.
In previous articles I’ve written about using superstition and people’s beliefs as a means to persuade. The term ‘everything happens for a reason’ is one of these concepts; ‘there are no accidents’ is another. If you’ve read these articles, you’re already familiar with the power that they can hold in persuasion.
Well, assigning blame is the other side of the ‘everything happens for a reason‘/’there are no accidents’ coin. Wherein both of these concepts use our prospect’s belief in an ordered, equitable universe, assigning blame uses a common enemy as a means to persuade.
This might appear on the surface a little controversial. I intend absolutely no disrespect, especially in terms of religious orientation. I am a very spiritual person and believe fully in the freedom of religion. But by way of example, I want to show how this is a powerful persuasion technique.
There is a theory in sociology that the greatest way to bond a group of people is to give them a common enemy to struggle against.
Let’s start with Christianity as an example. What’s the common enemy of Christianity? Well, you probably know right off the top of your head, it’s the devil. How is this installed in Christians from an early age? Well, we start saying things like, ‘We as humans are born into a world of sin and the mere act of being born causes us to not be able to get into the life hereafter until and unless we accept Jesus as our savior.’
That’s a fairly severe presupposition. What or who is the enemy in this instance? Well, just being born is. We’re born into sin. And who is responsible for that? The devil, the common enemy.
Many years ago I heard someone say, ‘The devil is the best friend Christians ever had because without him, there wouldn’t have been the need for a savior.’ Even the word ‘savior’ has the implication that people needed saving. If you are, in fact, born into sin, then you do need saving.
I am not debating any of this. I am, in a way, being the devil’s advocate (so to speak) and standing back to look at the larger picture. By removing my won beliefs, I am pointing out how you can see this too.
Now does it mean, by the way, having a common enemy is a bad thing? No, I think common enemies are great things. But one has to be careful and responsible. Is it responsible of a Christian to say that the devil’s a common enemy? Absolutely.
Note the advantage of having an unseeable, unknowable enemy such as the devil. Basic human drives and desires can be attributed to the influence of this invisible being (for example, lust (reproduction), gluttony (food)).
We have an inherent need to assign blame. In fact, it’s so fundamental to the core of who we are that everybody does this.
How about a political example? How about the ‘War on Terror’ or the ‘War on Poverty’? It’s virtually impossible to argue that anyone is for ‘terror’ or ‘poverty’. These are cultural common enemies. Terror and poverty, however, are concepts, not actual, tangible physical groups against which a war can be won, but notice how insanely powerful as enemies. If winning a ‘war’ against a concept were possible, I’d sign up and fight.
I’m contrasting ‘things happen for a reason’ with ‘blame.’
A word of warning: I wouldn’t dwell in the land of negativity, it’s like a double-edged sword. It cuts going and coming. Be very careful.