Clinton’s Advice for Talking About Safety From Guns
Former President Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton knows that much of America would like stricter gun laws for safety measures and he also knows about the resistance to those movements for new legislation. He has an idea about what is behind the resistance and how communication can improve to move the conversation forward.
Clinton talked about it on CBS on the “The Late Late Show with James Corden.”
Clinton suggested instead of ‘calling out’ holdouts to gun laws that could provide greater societal protection, that it might be wiser and more helpful to ‘call in’ people for discussion and collaboration.
He believes gun owners could be more receptive to such a more evolved, respectful, kinder approach.
“Don’t talk down to them,” Clinton says. “Instead of telling them they’re dumb if they don’t agree with you, ask for their help… It’s not necessary for somebody to agree with you to trust you with their vote.”
While opponents believe that is ridiculous, the current approach is not creating compassion and buy-in. It’s creating a stronger resolve against what many in the citizenry and government on the Left would prefer.
All sorts of rationalization for not following Clinton’s counsel is likely, even at the ongoing cost of rejection of the call for improvement in safety from gun violence. Clinton says that maybe a new assumption could be held and practiced, where those calling for stronger limits on gun purchases and ownership could think of pro-gun rights citizens and government officials in a different way, which is to “assume that they’ve got good sense and they’re afraid of losing what they’ve got.”
As to why they think so strongly about gun purchases and ownership, he suggests the reason is that many gun owners are “inherently suspicious of government, easy to spook, and don’t want to take a chance.”
Seeking to understand people takes patience and curiosity we might not be in large supply of when we’re afraid, feeling intellectually superior and angry yet without that patience and curiosity, as well as active listening skills as conversation traits we might not be stuck in fighting.
It’s shortsighted and ignorant to rely on muscling our way to what we want in a war of the wills, which is a zero-sum game that leads to a return serve of aggression for the aggression opponents feel.
Clinton’s recommendation could be a start, in society, in the media and in Congress.
