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To: Cathryn Crawford
Interesting article. There are a few things at play here that deserve examination.

The crux of the issue is, how can the prolife movement more effectively convince others to agree with it? Or stated slightly differently, how can the prolife movement sell others on the value of prolife principles?

There is a general sales principle that says to speak the language of your target audience. If one wants to speak to a Frenchman, one should speak French. Even if the target understands more than one language, the target will be most accepting of arguments presented well in their native tongue. If one wants to convince those who are not currently part of the prolife movement, one should speak their language. Making religious arguments to an atheist or an agnostic is simply not going to work. That is common sense, which naturally means that too often it is not followed. Religious conservatives would be more effective prolife advocates if they kept this in mind.

There is another aspect of this, however, that can only be the onus of those in the prolife movement who are not Religious conservatives. Those who are prolife for reasons other than religion are going to be more naturally conversant in the other reasons for being prolife, since those are their reasons. Going back to the sales analogy, if a software shop wants to sell a web application solution to a customer, they will find the greatest chance of success sending someone who has a background in web applications than if they send someone who does not. The groups you identified outside of the religious prolifers need to have leaders step forward and become more forceful advocates. Religious prolifers can learn to speak the lingo of the non-religious, but they will always be faced with the handicap of being 'different' than those they are trying to sway. People are generally more succeptible to persuasion from their own than from outsiders.

215 posted on 06/06/2003 1:08:35 PM PDT by William McKinley
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To: William McKinley
...If one wants to speak to a Frenchman, one should speak French. Even if the target understands more than one language, the target will be most accepting of arguments presented well in their native tongue. If one wants to convince those who are not currently part of the prolife movement, one should speak their language. Making religious arguments to an atheist or an agnostic is simply not going to work. That is common sense, which naturally means that too often it is not followed. Religious conservatives would be more effective prolife advocates if they kept this in mind.

Exactly my point. Exactly. It's not that the morality is wrong - it's just not always effective.

226 posted on 06/06/2003 1:16:47 PM PDT by Cathryn Crawford (Save your breath. You'll need it to blow up your date.)
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