Are all yellow cars much the same–not only in their color but their essential characteristics of fuel economy, speed, power and quality? What about all Fords or all Toyotas? A closer question, perhaps, at least in terms of resale value and possibly likelihood of need of repair. Do you suppose that someone who looks like you thinks like you? Do they hold the same values, the same principles and have the same goals or objectives? It is an exciting prospect to have a woman and a black/multi-racial man running for president, but is there any logical reason to suppose that simply because they share the quality of gender or ethnic background with you that they will better represent your views on the future of America? No there isn’t. This is the fallacy of representation. Just because we share some aspect of identity with another, many people believe that they must actually think like us. Oddly, questions arose early with respect to Barack Obama–was he “black enough.” Has anyone asked whether Hillary Clinton is “woman enough?” Republicans (and media analysts) do ask if John McCain is conservative enough. That reveals the key point. No matter what background we share, whether it be gender or race, that alone is no guarantee that an individual will meet our expectations. Don’t fall for fallacies. Look beyond to what the person stands for, whether they agree with what you stand for or not.
