If we’re going to change the culture we need to engage the culture, and when we do the latter, it’s imperative we make sure our message is grounded in reason and communicated through a winning strategy.

What made 42% of staunch abortion supporters change their opinions? 

This.

BY STEPHANIE GRAY

In the first 2 minutes of TED Talk “The Antidote to Apathy,” Dave Meslin masterfully points out that we often mistakenly conclude that those who don’t respond to our messages are apathetic. In reality, what appears as a problem of indifference can actually be a problem of packaging. In other words, as Meslin says, “People do care, but… we live in a world that actively discourages engagement by constantly putting obstacles and barriers in our way.”

How often have pro-lifers lamented, “The media ignores us,” or “People just don’t care”? And yet, perhaps this is because our packaging doesn’t connect with the deep passions and strong opinions people have. Perhaps people aren’t apathetic; perhaps we have unintentionally excluded them by communicating our message in a way that resonates with us, but not with the culture.

For example, consider the bumper sticker, “Choose Life!” If you saw that on a vehicle, would you conclude the driver was pro-life? If so, congratulations—you’re part of the pro-life bubble! But let’s consider, for a moment, the average person who doesn’t associate with ardent activists in either the anti- or pro-abortion camps. They may see that bumper sticker and think, “Choose life—stop human trafficking” or “Choose life—end poverty.” If our message is too vague, it will be received through the lens of whatever is going on in the viewer’s world.

So, specificity is key. And what, precisely, are we saying? We are saying that dismembering the tiny bodies of the youngest, most vulnerable humans amongst us is a human rights violation. That is hardly extreme; in fact, opposing that reasonable view, when phrased that way, is real extremism.

So how do we get this pro-life message out to the culture in a way which resonates with the public and transforms their view of embracing abortion as a woman’s right to rejecting it as a moral wrong?

We start by surveying what we know about our culture in general:

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