why people change their minds

Yesterday at the Southface Roundtable, I had some conservations about the art of convincing people on environmental issues. We agreed that there’s been a lot of change in most people’s mindsets over the past few years, and that we’re definitely seeing a turn of the tide. But we also agreed that many people still seem easily swayed in either direction, and as we were talking, I realized something.

Here it is: very few people are convinced by facts, and even fewer ever bother to research facts for themselves. Most people are convinced entirely by the loudest voice, and especially the loudest voice who speaks last. In other words, most people are convinced entirely by marketing.
So they see Al Gore’s movie—which isn’t exactly marketing, but it is mass media, which psychologically for most people comes to the same thing—and they are convinced of climate change. But the next day they hear their favorite radio talk show giving “equal time to both sides” on the climate change issue, and they’re full of doubts again. The fact that there is no scientific debate holds no weight with most people. They hear debate on television, and they have no way of distinguishing between scientific and farcical.

All of which led me to the inescapable conclusion of my true calling in life: environmental marketing. I have a lot of ideas for this. Ads showing cool kids in electric cars whizzing past the old fogie-types in their ugly SUV. Little kids with their moms biking safely to school in tree-lined bike lanes. Beautiful girls in bathing suits buying local food at the farmer’s market. You get the idea.

Of course, on the other hand, I’m not sure if I have any room to complain about how easily people are swayed, because I’m not any different. Even this post is a perfect example—I think this is my second or third post about my “new future calling in life” in the few months since I’ve started this blog. I have a new life calling every few months. So yes, I’m as big a hypocrite as everyone else. I’m influenced by whatever is hip, cool, and faddish. I’m excited about the next big thing. But hey—at least I know it.

So this is my life calling for the day, and I’ll dream up environmental ads tonight. Tomorrow, it’ll be something different. But at least I’ll still believe in human-induced climate change, which is more than I can say for some people.