posted
I find this completely unsurprising. People want to hear things that re-affirm what they already believe. They don't want to have to question thier beliefs. Myself included. It's hard.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm sure an analysis of who is on the covers as recommending the book or author would yield similar results.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
That is really interesting. I do read political books, and I don't confine myself to books that I know to begin with that I will agree with. I know that most people do, however, from the reactions I get to books I carry around with me (I take whatever I'm reading with me pretty much everywhere I go).
To begin with, most people seem to think that because I am reading a particular book or author that I necessarily agree with that book's or author's point of view. I get lots of blank stares when I try to explain that it isn't necessary to agree with something to read it. It extends to the point where I've been told by some people that they cannot even really be friends with someone who does not agree with them politically. That attitude just floors me; I wouldn't have most of the best friends I have if I had to agree with them on politics.
The bottom line is, I think, that most people - or most folks living in the United States, at least - have this idea that only books they agree with are worth reading and that only people who agree with them are worth associating with on any sort of extended level. That perception may just be an artifact of where I live - here in Central California, conservatives and liberals both tend to be very much exclusivist in their interactions and very hostile to those not in agreement with them. I hope that this is a skewed perception, because if it is true that we are so divided, this country is in - to quote the first President Bush - deep doo-doo.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have to say that all my life I've sought out books I disagree with so that I can have the enjoyment of working out where the author is wrong.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
