Belief In Bigfoot: Why
Debate Is Pointless
By Dorraine Fisher
I'm going to tell you
something you may not want to hear. Will you change the way you think
based on what I say? The odds are against it for lots of scientific
reasons, but you know I'm going to say it all anyway.
I no longer debate the
existence of bigfoot...or anything else for that matter. And people
often ask me why. Citing that debate is healthy thing. But I
strenuously disagree for reasons about which I've spent a lot of time
thinking.
When I was still new to
bigfoot research, I was easily pulled into debate after debate with
skeptics. I knew what I knew and no one was going to try and tell me
otherwise. But I've since learned that ANY debate about Bigfoot with
ANYONE is pointless. And I'll tell you why. But this story can't be
told without delving into basic human nature. Yes, here I go again
First of all, what is a
debate? It's basically an argument, right? Perhaps it takes place in
a controlled environment and both sides are given a chance to speak.
But it's still an argument nonetheless. And an argument is a conflict
of sorts, or a fight...without guns or fists. But still a fight at
its core.
And in the event of a
conflict, we, as humans, are hard-wired to try and accomplish one
objective: winning. We can't help ourselves, really. Instinct is a
powerful thing. And when instinct takes over, logic and reasoning
inadvertently go right out the window. It's not about finding the
truth. It's about winning the argument. And just like any
competition, you'll basically do whatever you can get away with in
order to achieve that goal.
But why is that? Don't the
“facts” speak for themselves?
They do, but only if others
are really listening to what's being said.
The facts can get lost in
the midst of all the preconceived ideas of the debaters. But what
preconceived ideas could these debaters possibly have, you ask? The
same preconceived ideas that all humans (yes, everyone) are guilty of
harboring. And that is the idea that the other side of the argument
has some hidden agenda. The belief that everything coming out of
their mouth is a blatant lie. You see this in social-political arenas
all the time. Even the soundest reason won't change the view of the
opposing side, because you are the enemy. You have to be wrong.
If we believe they're lying
about everything, the facts won't matter. All the work and
frustration it took to collect all those facts is moot...because
they're hard-wired to NOT believe them anyway. The opposing side is
the enemy. And the enemy is ALWAYS wrong. Right? That's what we all
think.
And, of course, you may
agree with a lot of what I've said here, but you'll feel sure it
doesn't apply to you. Right?
Sorry. Everyone is guilty of
all this. No one is exempt. We ALL have this entrenched, burning need
to be right and will fight literally to the death to prove it. Why?
Because being right is the most important thing in the world. The
person who's right gets all the perks; sometimes even gets to be king
or queen. Being right is everything. No one wants to hang out with
the person who lost the fight. And fear of isolation in a social
species like humans is a pretty powerful thing. We don't want to be
alone. So in order to be elevated in stature, we need to be right.
Or, at the very least, we need to make the other side look wrong.
Very, very wrong.
You see, science has this
thing called the argumentative theory of reasoning. And the idea behind
it is that we humans didn't take up debate about a subject in order
to discover some universal truth. We did it to try and exert
authority over others. It theorizes that humans didn't evolve the
ability to reason so they could find the truth or make better
decisions. We evolved reasoning skills in order to convince others or
to be cautious of what they try to convince us.
In a nutshell, we're
suspicious by nature. It was a very important survival mechanism. And
as much as we'd all like to think we've evolved as a species, we're
still animals after all. Maybe it was designed to help us be wary of
strangers and to preserve our own lives. So, it's at least easy to
say it's not really our fault. We're flawed human beings.
But that, my friends, is why
I don't debate Bigfoot or anything else any more. How often do you
see someone's opinion being changed by a solid point that was raised?
They don't really hear that point or comprehend because maybe their
basic human instincts of suspicion have kicked in. It's mostly about
winning. And they're in safety mode. Maybe that skill has outlived
its usefulness in the modern world, but it's still there nonetheless.
Not to mention again that humans are naturally competitive and have
to win the argument at all costs.
So how much do you really
think sound reasoning and truth really matter?
And you can tell yourself
Dorraine is crazy and she can't possibly be talking about me. But
you're guilty. We all are. We're hopelessly human. And it's a hard
pill to swallow that we may have advanced ourselves, survived, and
even thrived as a species by actually ignoring facts and truth in
favor of winning an argument.
So the next time you feel
this burning need to build your case and put all kinds of facts
together to support your argument, remember I said to not waste your
time and energy. It won't get you anywhere but the land of
frustration. ******DF
This Post By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher. Dorraine is a Professional Writer, a nature, wildlife and Bigfoot enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Dorraine conducts research, special interviews and more for The Crypto Crew. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!
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