Wooden-Headedness

Certainly, the term that Barbara Tuchman refers to as “wood-headedness” is prevalent in human affairs. As long as there are two opposite sides of an issue, two debating parties in any organization or affair, there will be two opposing, radical views, and as long as there are radicals, there are those whose initial views of the world are quite literally impossible to change. People like this, with this “stubborn-as-a-mule” attitude, are remarkably difficult to deal with in conversation, debate, and human affairs in general. Sad to say, however, that these people, characterized by their so-called “wood-headedness,” are many in number throughout the U.S. and even within its government. It is an unfortunate attribute, which many possess, and which often keeps them from seriously considering the contrary facts, notions, or views collected by an opposition. One could argue that the attribute which Tuchman describes could be equated to stubbornness and ignorance, factors which, if not handled truly carefully, could evolve into ones as grave as prejudice. Moreover, in today’s world, in this modern America, where we are raised on the old adage of not judging a book by its cover, it is quite unfortunate how much this wood-headedness, these prejudices (racial, political, religious, or otherwise), play a role in affairs of country, affairs of state, and even personal, everyday, human affairs. Wood-headedness in America is not always ill-mannered, but much of it stems from people’s pre-conceived views of other people, first impressions if you will, which, after their conceptions, are quite difficult to alter. For non-believers who believe bias has no place in America, consider the following. The boss of a large corporation is conducting interviews for a new, prominent position in his company, and two men come in to apply. Will the boss choose the employee who arrived to his interview in his best slacks, tie, and sport jacket and who spoke very politely and articulately, or will he choose the man whose dress was not so formal, a little wrinkled perhaps, and who did speak politely, but often used slang and other mannerisms. Naturally, the first applicant would be chosen. Now, he has no way of knowing if the first man’s work ethic is better than the second man’s in any way, but based on pre-conceived notions, his assessment of the situation, he might be more inclined to reject any contrary signs which might suggest the second man is better for the job. This source of self-deception, as you can see then, can indeed factor in to even the most mundane of life situations. Likewise, there are affairs on a larger scale, which display the true presence, the remarkable role, of wooden-headed people in the affairs of the world. I’m quite certain that most people know of at least one person who has a, shall we say, less than desirable view on another people, or organization. It is indeed a shame, but in today’s world, it is not uncommon to find someone who would venture to classify all practitioners of the Muslim faith as terrorists, or who would claim there is no God and that practitioners of any religion are simply wasting time.. Those of us who have had experience with religious and racial tolerance, of course, would disagree with this, but try attempting the other person to change his views. Such an attempt, most likely, would prove futile every time. It is unfortunate that these pre-conceived notions have such prevalence in our society, but while there are “wooden-headed people,” all human affairs will be affected in some way. While there are Democrats and Republicans, while there are Roman Catholics and atheists, while there is wooden-headed prejudice, society will continue to be acted upon, but indeed, it does not have to define us as a people.