AS A NATION,
WE'VE NEVER BEEN A VERY QUIET BUNCH.
IT'S NOT IN OUR HERITAGE.
BUT HAVE YOU NOTICED OF LATE
THE LARGE DIN THAT PASSES
AS PUBLIC DISCUSSION?

Huge issues with major consequences face us now, from war versus no war to more government versus less government. As the stakes grow, the decibel level rises. How we communicate has been key since cave drawings.

During some periods of history, discourse was considered an art form, a dueling of words and ideas that excited and stimulated. In 1588, in his essay, "On the Art of Conversing," Michel de Montaigne wrote:

Montaigne continues --- An open exchange of ideas requires:

Some of us received the beginning of this education in college when we encountered a world of ideas conflicting with our own. Classrooms and coffeehouses droned with discussions, the give and take of new thoughts and ideas. Now this seems to be sadly lacking. What has happened to dialogue?

Pick a subject, any subject, and you might find your neighbor has staked out turf on the opposite side of the fence, guarding his or her thought domain with heavy artillery. Cast an eye at our legislators, unable to come to consensus and firmly entrenched in their idea bunkers.

Maybe that's understandable -- so many doors have been slammed in our faces in the past few years. We're constantly denied meaningful exchanges, whether it's a phone line with a canned message; the shallowness of television, which has almost entirely eliminated its curmudgeons; or the patriotic fervor that's made many afraid to speak out.

Talk radio buzzes with frustrated listeners airing grievances. Town halls with multiple views on important issues have given way to Oprah-style encounters. Op-ed pages, chat rooms and letters to the editor sizzle with angry dissent.

Richard Louv (Peaceful protests; Getting it right," Jan. 26) called Portland's recent antiwar protest an effective way to be heard. But he thinks protesters can achieve more with face-to-face debates or door-to-door dialogue. Too often, we've nourished our ideas alone or shared them as disembodied voices on a computer. Solitary ideas, untested by others with different views, tend not to change.

Those of us who've dealt with people in depth over the years never cease to be amazed at the wonderful complexities of individuals. So much has been lost on the modern scene with the fast pace of life and lack of opportunity to know others. Instead, we find ourselves dealing with one-liner slogans and sound bites.

IF EVERYONE IS SHOUTING,
NO ONE CAN BE HEARD.
Maybe it just requires turning down the volume
and listening quietly to someone else's views.

We are large, and we contain multitudes.

The Sunday Oregonian
February 9, 2003