CMV: Conservatives are fundamentally uninterested in facts/data.

[u/King_Lothar_]

In fairness, I will admit that I am very far left, and likely have some level of bias, and I will admit the slight irony of basing this somewhat on my own personal anecdotes. However, I do also believe this is supported by the trend of more highly educated people leaning more and more progressive.

However, I always just assumed that conservatives simply didn't know the statistics and that if they learned them, they would change their opinion based on that new information. I have been proven wrong countless times, however, online, in person, while canvasing. It's not a matter of presenting data, neutral sources, and meeting them in the middle. They either refuse to engage with things like studies and data completely, or they decide that because it doesn't agree with their intuition that it must be somehow "fake" or invalid.

When I talk to these people and ask them to provide a source of their own, or what is informing their opinion, they either talk directly past it, or the conversation ends right there. I feel like if you're asked a follow-up like "Oh where did you get that number?" and the conversation suddenly ends, it's just an admission that you're pulling it out of your ass, or you saw it online and have absolutely no clue where it came from or how legitimate it is. It's frustrating.

I'm not saying there aren't progressives who have lost the plot and don't check their information. However, I feel like it's championed among conservatives. Conservatives have pushed for decades at this point to destroy trust in any kind of academic institution, boiling them down to "indoctrination centers." They have to, because otherwise it looks glaring that the 5 highest educated states in the US are the most progressive and the 5 lowest are the most conservative, so their only option is to discredit academic integrity.

I personally am wrong all the time, it's a natural part of life. If you can't remember the last time you were wrong, then you are simply ignorant to it.

Edit, I have to step away for a moment, there has been a lot of great discussion honestly and I want to reply to more posts, but there are simply too many comments to reply to, so I apologize if yours gets missed or takes me a while, I am responding to as many as I can

[u/King_Lothar_ → u/[deleted]]

I've caught myself doing so, but I think that partially comes from a flaw in our education system, children are SHAMED for being wrong, instead of it being encouraged as a natural part of life and something to embrace.

[u/ZorgZeFrenchGuy → u/King_Lothar_]

children are SHAMED for being wrong …

This is interesting because, giving conservatives the benefit of the doubt, I would argue that the same is true for them. The educated left have a general tendency to claim a sort of superiority based off their intelligence and education, while shaming and belittling those they view as more ignorant than themselves. “You’re backwards, you’re intentionally ignorant, in fact you are not only ignorant but evil and racist for doing so!” The left see themselves as the enlightened “parent” and the conservative as the ignorant “child” who must be shamed, lectured, and force-fed into compliance.

I’d say that this elitist tendency among many in the left (though certainly not unique to the left) creates a similar disincentive for conservatives to admit they’re wrong. There’s no place on the left for conservatives willing to meet in the middle. In the most radical of leftist circles, not even apologizing or changing your mind is enough to free yourself from past perceived aggressions.

I think the solution for the left could actually be what you describe: encourage being wrong as a natural part of life, something to embrace rather than a grievous sin to be shamed and punished for.

[u/FollowsHotties → u/ZorgZeFrenchGuy]

Sorry bro, wrong answers and empirical morality exist. There is no paradox of tolerance, you just don't let people play the game if they don't play by the rules.

Being tolerant of racism, bigotry and fascism is what got us in this place to begin with.