The exchange, in combination with a number of other unpleasant exchanges I've had in the past couple of years since venturing into Internet writing, made me think again about the purpose of public discourse.
Whatever your personal reaction to the song "Accidental Racist" may be, the immediate controversy that followed is a reminder that voices appearing to call for unity are subject to intense scrutiny. And that's a good thing.
By pursuing conversations with people about urban legends, conspiracy theories, and the nuttier political and social myths that pervade our culture, I've learned something about people: Our media-fueled "culture war" is in many ways an illusion.
Instead of ignoring posts and comments as your blood boils with disagreement, I propose we change the state of political discourse online. After all, we are all debating for a common cause: the well-being of our nation and the citizens who reside within it.
Given the extremes of our political discourse, where does a "progressive traditionalist" like me find solace and encouragement?
Ten minutes later, our bosses rushed over, asked where the food had come from and were horrified to learn we had accepted food from a stranger. "What did this man look like, this is a political campaign! There could be strychnine or something in that! Let us know if you're not feeling well," they said.
Gaffes are not just meaningless accidents: they reveal more about the true characters of the politicians who make them than they would wish the electorate to know.
Aside from the undeniable merit of his views, consider the actual language used. Serious. Intelligent. Thought-provoking. Wouldn't it be something if a sizable number of our politicians would actually talk like that today? Imagine how different the national debate might be.
Are the citizens of this country, by virtue of our general lack of political fluency, the cause of this lackluster discourse? The numbers support the idea. We need to set a new standard for our political leaders' fluency in policy.
In the polite city of Portland, Oregon, I eavesdropped on the animated conversation at the table next to me. As they spoke about the Ryan budget the first grenade was thrown: "You are an ass---e."
With the Republican convention past and the Democratic convention upon us, it seems like a ripe time to ponder the tenor of public discourse.
Dick Lugar was a nice guy who stayed too long. But his crushing loss is also a valid data point in a profound and troubling trend, obvious not only in politics but in every other aspect of American life. We are losing the mediating middle of everything.
Our culture and political process is adept at demonizing opposing points of view and candidates. What if, instead of accepting this as the norm, we embrace a proactive response that insists on a new discourse?
We live in a world that too often values conflict over solutions, and loud voices over wise ones. Avoiding the mistakes described below may not only make you more effective, but help make our public discourse more civil and productive.
Somewhere amongst the blob of partisan political analysis, reality television contests and mass commercialization that makes up our popular culture, is a world of politics that attempts to fit in. The problem is, real political discussion cannot exist in such a setting.
Everyone complains about shouting heads on cable TV and the sorry state of our political discourse, but few people seem to realize that we can do something about it.
Flying cars, Rosie the robot housekeeper, moon colonies and the like would all be lovely. But I would rather have made more progress toward decency and equality and kindness and humanity than we seem to have made.
I've been thinking that journalists should add a "civility" beat to their shrinking offerings. At least they should give a little extra air or ink (literal and digital) to challenge politicians when they hit below the belt.
Luke Hall, an ambitious 19-year-old politician from Cincinnati, strives to limit misinformation by changing the way we take in politics in the first place.
Artists in particular are fragile souls who are vulnerable to those extreme moments of self-doubt where they cannot bear to look at their work anymore...
By: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer Published: 01/22/2012 07:36 PM EST on LiveScience If you walk away from holiday dinn...
Lately, it seems that wherever we go people are talking politics. And, no, it's not just humdrum discourse. Unfortunately, there have been many instances where seemingly friendly debates have escalated into ugly screaming matches and personal attacks.
While the Arab Spring showed that people can still accomplish the impossible, our political debate was frozen in corporate cynicism. Now everything has changed. For the U.S., spring came in autumn.
ED RENDELL: The vast majority of the American people, 70 percent-plus, want the government to work together and compromise.
How can we reclaim civility, decency and harmony when they are at best unnoticed or worse, ignored? As we debate our nation's future, we need the news media to ask the hard questions, not the sensational ones.
