Why The Left Is Afraid to Listen

A few months ago my wife and I had dinner with some family friends, who occasionally invite us to dine with them. I always look forward to these dinners, as the couple both have expertise in areas of interest to me: Laura is a licensed clinical psychologist and Dave is a lawyer.

Laura and Dave invited another couple to the dinner as well.  Present was Dr. John Holbein, assistant

professor of political science at Brigham Young University, and his wife.  Over the course of the evening, Dr. Holbein stated that his work involves researching voter trends, and why Americans vote the way they do.

"Have you done any research into why people voted for Donald Trump?  I'd sure like to see the results of that study,” Dave said.

"So would I," replied Dr. Holbein, chuckling.

"Well, I'll tell you why I voted for him," I chimed in.

"Oh no, that's fine," Holbein quickly punctuated.  Dave immediately changed the subject.

Dr. Holbein's response was revealing. He didn't actually care to know why I—or anyone for that

matter—would vote for Mr. Trump.  He just wanted to feel morally superior for not voting for him.  He had no genuine curiosity; in fact, he was probably very content in his ignorance of the matter.

In fact, he was probably afraid.

Afraid that my logic and rationale might make sense.  Afraid that I would have good reason for my choice of vote.  That I wasn't some rabid conservative voter foaming at the mouth, but that my decision to vote a certain way had been calculated, analyzed, and painfully thought-out. He was afraid of this because if this were the case he could no longer feel morally superior.  He could no longer sit there with his smug little grin and think he was better than me.  That is why he not only didn't care for an answer, he was afraid of one.

Dr. Holbein is not an intellectual.  He does not seek to understand the world around him through research.  He seeks to prove his own worldview through the confirmation bias provided by his own "experiments", which are orchestrated to produce the exact results he wishes to find.

This is how the left operates.  They claim to seek tolerance and understanding, but they shut down

discourse before understanding can ever be obtained.  Understanding is not something they demand from themselves, only from their opponents.

We must be willing to listen to each other, even opinions we do not like or agree with. If we as Americans take the approach adopted by Dr. Holbein, we will tear ourselves apart.  His approach only breeds hatred and bias.  Listening and learning breeds peace and cooperation.