3 Words We Need to Hear Far more in Politics

You didn’t hear those 3 words in the liberals after their off-the-mark accusations of right-wing instigation of the Tucson tragedy. You didn’t hear them from Michele Bachmann after her history-revising Tea Party reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union speech. These 3 test is virtually entirely absent from the political landscape. Yet, for America to carry on to listen to its populace, for politicians to work together to discover solutions to today’s challenges, but for the tone of civil discourse to remain just below a deafening roar, we need to hear those 3 words more often.

What are those three words, you ask? “I was wrong.” Those three easy test is completely radioactive in our politicosphere. Politicians, pundits, pontificators, and proselytizers are terrified to utter those words, even as they’re referred to as to the carpet for inarguably erroneous statements, nonfactual facts, denial of reality, and, well, just plain lies (and do not forget damned lies and statistics). Even being mistaken (a much less painful version to be wrong) is so challenging to admit to that particular those members of the politocracy, when they’re painted into a corner with their wrongness, revert to the now-infamous “mistakes were made,” thus semantically distancing themselves in the very mistakes that they did, in fact, made.

Where does this aversion for those 3 small words originate from? Sadly, being wrong carries by using it apparent baggage of such heft those denizens of the Beltway believe that they will be crushed under the weight. At a psychological level, being wrong can hurt one’s self-esteem and makes individuals feel below par about themselves. When that widespread human reaction is applied to the insecure, egomaniacal, and narcissistic that populate the politicosphere, an acknowledgement of incorrectness is a direct attack on their unwavering certitude about everything in which they believe.

For those accurate believers (of each and every ilk), to be wrong is really a failing that produces an psychic earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 that could send shock waves by means of their belief system upon which those mistakes had been built. Also , since their rightness is so righteous, to admit otherwise is an assault on their moral foundations. You will find that synonyms for wrong contain blasphemous, depraved, evil, indecent, ungodly, and wicked. Who would want to be associated with such words.

The perceived investment for being wrong extends well beyond the walls of our crania. In the eyes of others, it paves the way to the possibility that other things one says or does can also be wrong. As well as the perceived social costs of confessing the sin of wrongness are devastating: embarrassment, shame, and lack of public esteem, credibility, authority, and influence.

We reside in a common culture in which any failing, which being wrong is one of its most egregious kinds, makes a person a failure worthy of disgrace and ostracism. We also live in a culture of exceptionalism in which an admission of being wrong is viewed as a blow to America’s national identity, esteem, and pride. And, of course, in our political culture, being wrong gets a cudgel to be utilized against one’s detractors and enemies to discredit all future assertions and actions.

Yet, I believe that “cowboying up” to being wrong is really a sign of strength that most men and women respect and admire, particularly against the present political backdrop of denial, ignoring, victimization, deflection, and equivocation, which are among the worst kinds of cowardice. It shows confidence without arrogance, reverence for what is right instead of fealty to what is expedient, and respect for other people together with respect for oneself.

This admission also says “I’m human” and stating that which should certainly be obvious is, these days, an act of courage inside a political world populated by lots who have the hubris to believe that they’ve the omniscience of a deity instead of the limitations of humanity. Lastly, having the ability to say, “I was wrong” also says to one’s detractors, ” If I’m tough enough to admit I’m wrong, I’m tough sufficient to withstand your Don Quixote attacks.”

In my opinion that there’s far too a lot talking the talk and never enough walking the walk around here. And we have to start somewhere. I’m ready to walk the plank of culpability and accept the effects. At the beginning of this piece I noted that the liberals had been amiss in connecting the right-wing noise machine to the Tucson tragedy. Though I hate to admit it, I want those 3 little words myself right now. So here they’re: “I was wrong.” Anybody care to join me?