Communication As An Enigma

Communication is an enigma. It is a puzzle that seems simple, yet upon closer inspection reveals itself to be a complex phenomenon that often leads to contradictory results. In the past century, for instance, there is no doubt the act of communicating with others has seen tremendous strides. From the telegraph to the wire services to radio to television and to the Internet, getting the word out about something or passing along information such as news has seen unbelievable improvement. As a result, the sharing of information can now be done almost instantaneously. To label this reality as anything but positive would be doing a great disservice to the men and women who made it possible as well as the potential benefits it brings to all of us.

Yet, to me, this is where the puzzle reveals itself. Just as our society is better able to communicate, there seems to be a growing segment of this same society that seems to be disenfranchised. Even with all of the so-called communicating that is going on through all kinds of channels and mechanisms, more and more people - young and old, men and women, rich and poor - are being turned off, overwhelmed or feeling as if what is being passed around is not speaking to their needs or relevant to their interests and lives. Recent elections are a perfect example of this. In a country that touts itself as the greatest democracy in the world, rarely, if ever, do more than 50 percent of the registered voters actually vote. Is this because these millions of men and women do not actually know an election is going? Or is it because how and what is being communicated throughout the campaigns, including by those who work for candidates, those in the news business, and regular folk who simply talk among themselves about issues of the day, are not able to relate to the noise they hear, see and read?

My conclusion: while we as a society can communicate well, I am sure we are. I also wonder whether any one is really paying attention to this disturbing trend or even genuinely cares about it. I have doubts. These days I equate communication with progress. Yes, as a whole, our society has made great progress. Yet despite this, there are more people in the world who are starving and living in poverty than ever before. Why are these people being left behind? Why are there more and more people who are not being addressed or whose voices are not being heard or given attention? This gap concerns me. Economically, it seems to be generally accepted that there are haves and have nots in the world. It is also recognized that the gap between the two is growing at a disturbing rate. Do these two divisions also exist when it comes to communication? I am inclined to think so. This, too, is not a good trend.