We live in a postmodern world where there is no one absolute truth. We live in a world where there are many different beliefs and stories that construct truths we all need to be aware of, to respect, understand, and listen to. Truth is a spectrum of colors, like the diversity of our world. We are missing out on that diversity by separating our opinions and ourselves and insisting that our way is the right way. Persuasion does not change anything.
Life is a process.
To change what a person thinks does not happen suddenly. Change is about listening and looking into our beliefs about the world around us. In order to see this, we should go beyond critical persuasion, referred to as separate knowing, as being the only way to learn and communicate ideas. In my Basic Writing class at the University of Massachusetts, we discussed separate knowing and connected knowing. Separate knowing is being able to see what is wrong with a view and generate opposing positions.