We give ourselves a gentler, more thoughtful talk when arguing within our brain. We can do that with others, even in political debates. If we start with this in mind then we can stick with a conversation, an argument, long enough to move out of the antagonism and towards a thoughtful approach.
What should be asked of our public communicators, in politics and in the media, is to choose words (and images), not only for their shock and attention-getting value, but for their precision and their honesty. Of course that means those communicators have to be honest and precise in their thinking and self-evaluation, not something they often want to do if doing so threatens their position, power or wealth.
That is why you don’t see talking heads pulling back from their excesses, on both sides. They are playing a game, a game of ratings.advertisers, money and influence. They know they are helping to create a toxic dialog, but they are scared of losing what they have, and in some cases they are greedy for more, so they can’t or won’t pull back, even though they know their words are hurtful and denigrating to all of society, not just their political opponents.
I wish it were otherwise, and it can be, if you decide that listening to it is being complicit in spreading that toxicity and decide to not listen.
Drawing and commentary © 2019 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939, Irish poet
>Very true Marty though I have to confess, sometimes self-restraint is really, really, really, really hard. 🙂