It’s not every day that you can say that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff went viral for…well, anything, but here we are. Last week, General Mark A. Milley went viral for an eloquent defense of the importance of being educated. I know that other people are saying that what he did was defend critical race theory, but I think that particular take is a bit too narrow. Check it out:
In talking about current hubbub over Critical Race Theory and “woke” culture, General Milley diagnosed what’s wrong with current discourse and offered the best solution for it.
General Milley said that he wants to understand what “caused thousands of people to assault” the Capitol building. He went on to say that the military is made up of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardians who come from the people and that it’s important for leaders to understand how they think.
What he said is basically that leaders need to keep an open mind and go beyond their own ideological bubbles to learn about what other people think. Even if those outside of our bubble believe in things we don’t agree with, like communism. This is so simple but so accurate: You can’t credibly persuade someone that communism is bad unless you can explain why. And you can’t do that unless you understand what communism is and what its proponents believe. Even toddlers naturally understand that “because I said so” isn’t a terribly good justification for anything. To really know why something is good or bad, you have to understand it. Here’s an example:
Argument A:
“Communism is bad.”
Argument B:
Just hearing that someone thinks communism is bad isn’t nearly as persuasive as hearing that tens of thousands of people lost their businesses and private property because the government took it.
So, why is it important to be widely read and keep an open mind?
It’s pretty hard to be widely read or get very much out of what you’re reading if you aren’t open to reading new things or have the willingness to actually think through ideas that you don’t agree with. And the idea that some ideas are so dangerous that just exposing people to them can lead them down the wrong path is wrongheaded. But, being led down the wrong path is certainly possible for people who are being taught what to think instead of how to think.
Hate reading something isn’t the same as reading through it with an open mind. I firmly believe that it’s easier to find the flaws in an argument if you’re reading with an open mind instead of just looking for ways to shoot it down.
Something that appears to go over some heads is that Gen. Milley never said anything about compromising values. And there’s a big difference between keeping an open mind and compromising your values. Let me say that again: Keeping an open mind is not the same thing as compromising your values.
All you have to do to keep an open mind is to avoid deciding that something is good or bad until you have the chance to give it the appropriate amount of research, thought, and understanding. Note the part about “appropriate amount of thought, research, and understanding.” Some things, like: “Murder is bad” and “Racism is bad” don’t take as much time or understanding to get a good idea of whether it’s true or goes against your values or not.
You may have gotten all the way to this point and are thinking: But what if all I want to do is win a debate? What’s the point in reading stuff I know is wrong if all I want to do is own my opponent?
If you tell someone that they are wrong and an idiot, they’ll walk away thinking that you’re the problem. Give them a precise, factual explanation of why they are wrong and an idiot? That’ll stick with them. So, pick up a book and start reading things you don’t agree with.
