On the other hand… | Tim Adams

It’s never been easy for people to change their mind. But in a world of social media and polarised opinion, the stakes are now even higher. Time for a listening revolutionIn the past week, the spectacle of the American gun lobby facing down the bereaved families of Parkland, Florida, has been difficult to watch. So close to the latest tragedy, the insistence on the sanctity of the right to bear arms has looked not only wrong-headed but wildly perverse. The weight of evidence, which grows shooting by shooting, goes a long way to proving that the second amendment has the diametrically opposite effect from that – keeping families safe – in which its proponents place their faith. The disconnect invites a question that seems increasingly insistent in our lives: on big issues, why is it so very hard for people to change their minds?In the case of gun control, it is tempting to believe this is primarily a political question or even a financial one. In Wednesday’s emotive town hall debate in Miami, one young survivor of the shooting put that case directly to the Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio: the National Rifle Association had supported Rubio’s career to the tune of $3.3m; would he now refuse to take any more? For Donald Trump, intent on arming teachers, the monetary incentive looked even more telling: his campaign had benefited from a reported $21m of NRA funding. Continue reading…
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