Don't argue with an idiot this Christmas!

Merry Christmas, my friends. Be the light of peace on earth, suffer fools with grace, and have good will toward men.

Twain told us to "never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience" and we are not sure who told us to "never wrestle with a pig. You both just get filthy and the pig likes it."

This Christmas, if you do find yourself arguing with an idiot or wrestling with a pig, remember your role; you are not going to change their minds―you are not going to reason someone out of a belief they didn't reason themselves into in the first place―you can only hope to help the spectators whose minds haven't fallen completely into hardened error. Be sure to remain above the petty and peevish polemics by pointing out the deeper principles that are more solid than the spindoctoring on the surface, or else you will appear to the spectator not as a wiser alternative but merely as another fool who shouts lies across a sea of misunderstanding. (Kipling)

Remember Socrates' great example that teaches us that the best way to win over someone who is in error is to show them that they hold two (or more) contradictory opinions simultaneously and ask them choose between them. Remember that conservatism is most attractive as a viable escape from progressive evils.

And, finally, remember Gandhi's takeaway from his study of the ways of Christ: "Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected."