See, I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and it’s perfect example of something impossible today.

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    There was never a point in time where a single person could change even the majority of people’s opinions.

    • bamfic@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Most change happened with 20% supporting, 20% opposing, and the rest not giving a shit and waiting to get behind whomever wins

      • Sundial@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        MLK definitely did not change everyone’s opinion. A lot of people? Sure. Everyone? Absolutely not.

          • Sundial@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            Ah that’s my bad. My point still stands though. It’s not like he was able to convince everyone to become Protestant.

            • Ham Strokers Ejacula@reddthat.com
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              2 days ago

              The people who chose to remain catholic had no opinion on protestantism before it was invented, then they formed a negative opinion of it. Opinion changed, cheque mate aetheistises.

                • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  That was not a criterion of OP’s question. As such, it doesn’t really matter. Just that they were changed is the qualifier here.

                  If I were to guess, it at least changed their opinion of Martin Luther, even if they didn’t become protestants.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Yes.

      The Pope has that power. Pretty much always has, but it was far more pronounced before universal literacy was a thing.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          I don’t know that a screenshot of twitter is proof of anything, especially after the proliferation of AI.

          But, go read about the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Even if I’m wrong in my opinion, you’ll learn some new things.

      • Sundial@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        No pope has ever had the power to change everyone’s mind with a single word or speech. That’s never been a thing.

  • LengAwaits@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Too bad more people didn’t have their minds changed by Paine’s “Agrarian Justice”. What a banger.

  • satanmat@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Eh. One person could be influencing in the recent past…

    Walter Cronkite, declared the Vietnam war unwinnable and “people “ say that changed Americans view on it.

    Today, I agree there are too many voices and too many people have their “own realities” for one person to affect the national discourse.

    I don’t think is aliens landed the majority of Americans would believe their own eyes if their news said it was fake.