Something I think about a lot is how years ago an org I worked for sponsored a study on how parents who don't support vaccination responded to different types of pro-vaccine arguments. One of the principle findings was that it was MOST EFFECTIVE to validate their concerns.

The tactic of saying "Actually vaccines are the greatest and nothing is wrong with them and there are no downsides" was almost completely useless. The most successful approach was, "Absolutely, there have been some vaccine injuries. Absolutely, you COULD have a reaction."

And then showing why those tradeoffs are worth it. That your odds of a reaction are tiny compared to your odds of contracting a disease if you don't vaccinate; That the odds of a negative outcome being disabling or lethal are far worse for the illness than the vaccine, etc.

People really don't like feeling like they're being sold a bill of goods, a false promise of an all-perfect product.

I think about this a lot when people argue that we should only talk about Joe Biden as if he were the GREATEST CANDIDATE WE COULD HAVE. No, he's not.

He's got a lot of weaknesses, a lot of strengths. All of life -- every single decision you make -- is a cost/benefit analysis. Every single time. "Biden is FINE" is my chosen campaign slogan because it's honest, and IMO respectful of your ability to smell BS.

His refusal to go for universal healthcare is ridonkulous. His kowtowing to anti-socialism rhetoric is dumb. His environmental plans are decent but could use a lot more courage. On the upsides, he is brave and right about guns. He doesn't spew one-liners to get quoted.

He clearly actually cares about the people he talks to, and he has relevant experience out the ass.

I think he'll be a decent president. I really do. And I don't think most Americans would make a decent president. I think only maybe a few hundred people alive today could do that job even passingly well. So yeah, not my first choice, but far from my last.

I think there's a humility and optimism in accepting that all of life is a fight to make things just a little bit better, so that -- dog willing -- the next guy can make it a little bit better than that, and so on.

So anyway, vote for Biden. He's FINE.