Fear a Powerful Weapon in Politics

                Scare tactics are always present in politics. Both parties are guilty of using them to help their cause or to denounce an unpopular idea from an opposing argument. We see this everywhere in politics, where one side accuses the other of using scare tactics to argue their cases and so on. Why do political figures use scare tactics when facts alone should be enough to win an argument? The answer is simple, it works! Fear is one of the most powerful emotions that humans posses, and when someone is in fear of something they are more likely to behave irrationally. A popular scare tactic in politics today usually involves children, the elderly, or some other group that relies on protection or assistance from other people or programs. By identifying scare tactics before they happen, people are much less likely to fall victim to their influences. We need to recognize the scare tactics that are used in the arguments against marijuana legalization so that we can expose them for what they are.

                Scare tactics are everywhere but we can learn to recognize that, while fear is a powerful emotion, a scare tactic should be taken with a grain of salt in an argument. Let’s take the argument on health care for example. When the healthcare debate first came up the Republicans used the scare tactic that grandma was going to be put in front of a “death panel” if universal health care was passed. Likewise when the Republican’s came up with their own plan about healthcare and social security, Democrats said that the plan would “push grandma off a cliff”. Now I don’t know about you, but if I was grandma I’d probably die of a heart attack from watching the news talk about how the Republicans and Democrats are trying to kill me. Both of these accusations caused seniors to speak out against each issue in great numbers, and the defending side found it difficult to reassure them. There are many scare tactics surrounding marijuana. I speak about many of them on this blog like the gateway drug theory, its affect on children, and crime rates. Hopefully I am successful at dispelling these popular scare tactics and revealing them for what they truly are, nothing more than dirty political games. Rest assured that prohibition supporters will always combat marijuana reform with more intense scare tactics as the issue progresses, and we will only be successful if we know how to address them properly.

There are three basic steps when it comes to fighting scare tactics. The first step in combating scare tactics related to marijuana is disproving them before they arise. How will we be able to do this? Think of politics as a game of chess. You have to be many steps ahead of your opponent, constantly predicting what he will do while adjusting your strategy when necessary. We must first think of what scare tactics the prohibition supporters will likely use.  For example let’s say we realize that the opposing side will argue that children will be put in more danger if marijuana is legalized (which is a popular argument). Before this argument is made we must identify it and always discus how children will be safer and benefit from marijuana legalization. We need to explain how drug dealers would have less contact with kids and how a licensed sales person would not sell marijuana to them and so on. This way we stop the scare tactic before it has a chance to start. The second step is to expose the scare tactic before it is brought up by the opposing side. If we say “the other side will try to scare you by saying (insert argument here)”, then we will have already discredited the argument before it is brought up. By implementing this strategy we do one of two things, either the opposing side will abandon the argument or the argument will be widely ignored. This all depends on how well we are able to expose scare tactics for what they are. The third step is fairly simple. Many scare tactics lack substance. They are usually a couple of sentences stating a main idea that is simple for people to understand. As long as the public believes it the scare tactic requires little explanation. It only serves to create fear and often does not require a reasonable explanation; therefore, there is little preparation to back the argument with facts. By utilizing statistics and studies that support our argument over the scare tactic, many people will realize that the argument supported by the scare tactic is very thin and will be less likely to believe it. This especially works if the two previous steps in our strategy have already been used. Using this three step strategy we expose the scare tactic before it starts, build up arguments that disprove it before it starts, and finally debate the argument with overwhelming facts that support our case. If we can properly address scare tactics we will be more successful in promoting our cause.

I know what you’re asking yourself. If scare tactics carry such little weight then why are they so effective? When your brain activates fear it shuts down your ability to reason and make judgments. This is why survival guides tell people to remain calm and not to panic when they are faced with a very stressful situation. When you panic you are unable to make decisions or you make irrational ones. We have all heard of being “paralyzed with fear”. This is why the scare tactic is so effective in politics and why it is a useful strategy. If you make someone fearful they are less likely to rationalize. It is basic psychology being applied to politics.

Combating scare tactics will be one of the hardest parts when it comes to legalizing marijuana. After all, many of the arguments in favor of prohibition utilize them. However if we know how to combat them better we will be more successful in promoting marijuana legalization, and we have a greater chance of accomplishing our goal.