Neil deGrasse Tyson: Science deniers in power are a profound threat to democracy | “You don’t have the option to say you don’t believe E=mc2. It’s true whether or not you believe it.”

Folks are actually less likely to be swayed by facts which run counter to their preexisting beliefs. Cognitive dissonance means folks don't like to feel like they're wrong, and so when presented with factual evidence proving that they're wrong, they're more likely to dismiss the evidence than they are to admit that they're wrong, because self-growth is hard and shit.

The only real way to change hearts is to build relationships and create long-term dialogues. That takes time though, of course.

In the mean-time, try and build bridges and go from there. I know sometimes that's difficult when "the other side" is denying basic facts about the world, but, take global warming, for example:

You could make the argument that the world is getting warmer, etc. etc. etc., or you could make the argument that regardless of whether the earth is getting warmer, there's lots of money to be made in the renewable energy sector... one of those arguments will probably go over better with the average American conservative.

For further reading:

/r/worldnews Thread Parent Link - huffingtonpost.com