Embedding a Fact Within Another Story
Monday
I was talking with a friend the other day. I've talked to him before about Islam, but he's one of those people who tries to find some way of thinking about it so he doesn't have to think about it anymore. Things like "it is only the extremists, and our security forces will take care of them." Or "most Muslims don't believe that stuff, so we can all just get along. After all, there are extremists in every religion, and there's no good reason to pick on Islam."
I've disabused him of most of these ideas in previous conversations, but he still holds out hope that he can go on about his life without having to think about something as terrifying as, "The core doctrines of Islam are imperialistic, supremacist, and violent toward non-Muslims."
Anyway, I thought of a way to sink a single, solid fact into his brain without him rejecting it. I embedded the fact in a story about something else. It was like putting medicine into a piece of meat and feeding it to your dog. He never knew it happened.
I said, "It's amazing — you can find a book on anything. Last night I was looking for a book on Winston Churchill. I've heard that he read Mein Kampf when it was first published, and as he saw Hitler rising to power, Churchill was trying to tell people, 'I've read his book, and he poses a danger to Britain, and something should be done to stop him,' but people didn't like this message, so they ignored him."
My friend said, "I've heard about that."
I said, "I think they even expelled him from Parliament.
He looked surprised. "Really?"
http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2014/11/embedding-fact-within-another-story.html
