I don’t recall who steered me towards this movie, but I watched it last night. It was a “not bad” flick, well worth the slot in my netflix queue.It contained a quote that sums up well my issue with “Reasoned Discourse, or the lack therof.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or ‘How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.’ That doesn’t make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are – just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore; it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being; you’re a marketing rep.”
Bingo. People are wary, and have grown quite weary, of being sold to. It isn’t that they are interested in your ideas, so much as SELLING theirs.