Got a text from my high school daughter proclaiming, "OMG dad! My AP Gov class is full of screaming liberals!"
After a full belly laugh at her expense, my first thought was, "Welcome to the world in which we live, kid."
Over the course of dinner she explained her comments further. I mostly listened as she vented... because that's what fathers with emotionally charged daughters do. When she was done, I offered the following as sage advice:
1.) Don't pick a fight, intellectual or other, unless you know you can win.
2.) If someone is espousing a specific view point for which you disagree, just listen and let them get it out of their system without interrupting or offering rebuttal. That being said, before you wade into the discussion and offer a counter argument, make sure you are armed with information and facts that back up your position.
Later that evening, I sent her an email full of links and starting points so she could start making her opinions stick in a political debate [provided below].
3.) Any position that runs counter to the Constitution is not a fact. It is actually a wish, or a dream, and is definitely a fallacy.
As an example of this statement, I pointed to the Electoral College and the post I created regarding that topic. Use this Blog link and scroll down to the January 10, 2017 post titled: The Electoral College - Working as Designed.
4.) Any discussion that becomes emotional, walk away. Passion is good, but passion isn't truth and passion isn't always factual. Walking away may enrage them further or give them the sense that they've won something, and that's fine. You won't be changing their mind any time soon anyway so wait until they calm down and are capable of having a rational conversation.
After the discussion she stated that she was nervous about speaking up because she didn't feel like 'she knew enough'. Good thing she has a dad that likes research... and conservatism! So I sent her an email with the following information (hopefully she uses the information):
And here are links to resources to help you form your opinion. At a minimum I'd start with twitter feeds and the Hillsdale online courses. The courses are about 10-20 minutes in length and will give you a good conservative foundation with which to start forming your arguments and rebuttals.
Dennis Prager
@dennisprager (twitter)
https://www.prageru.com/
http://www.dennisprager.com/
Hillsdale College
https://www.hillsdale.edu/
Free Online Course -->
https://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/free-online-courses/
Online Courses on the Constitution -->
1.) https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/constitution-2017/home/course-schedule?appeal_code=MK817EM2&utm_campaign=welcome_series&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email_2_best_offers&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9VvfmS_CQA4HAmtN4NliuAZ18UFtbKNs20q7cOEJc5Mnw2BscjWxivnUnujIdzbrQco8utwp8TCF8QqiXnYTutcmE2Iw&_hsmi=54973371
Imprimis - Free Monthly Conversative Newsletter Free From Hillsdale -->
https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/
Ben Shapiro
@benshapiro (twitter)
Editor in Chief at the Daily Wire --> http://www.dailywire.com/authors/ben-shapiro#
Ben Shapiro Show (podcast) --> https://soundcloud.com/benshapiroshow