A Better Form of Communication

I marvel at all the communicating that dominates our culture these days. Between television, the cable stations, radio, print media, and, of course, the Internet, the amount of verbage, opinions and information all of us are subjected to every day is almost unimaginable. Having said that, I think this is a good thing because even though it may seem or feel like too much, this kind of overflow helps keep us our society free and gives us the opportunity to be enlightened and informed. If anythning, I would love seeing that opportunity expand. Given our continuing advancements in technology, it no doubt will in the coming months and years.

What troubles me, howevrer, is that a growing amount of that so-called communicating is bogus. By that I mean it is communication in the form of people simply talking at rather than talking with others. (Please know I am totally aware of the irony of that statement given the fact I maintain this blog in which usually two times per week I give my opinion on something. relating to comunication. But also know I write this blog with the hope and dream that it will trigger informative and stimulating interactions with others.) There is nothing wrong with people making known their opinion or perspective on any given topic. Ideally, though, this kind of sharing should be done in a manner that encourages exchange rather than seeks to drown it out.

Perhaps this one-way communicating that does comprise our current culture is part of our DNA. Over 200 years ago in our nation's struggle for independence, our Founding Fathers and other early patriots rode on the wings of one-way communication. The early rebels, who constituted a minority of the people living in the American colonies, began making noise - one-way noise - about how repressive "the mother country" was to all of them. Slowly but steadily that minoirty became a majority and, as we all know, after much blood shed led our nation to gaining independence. My concern is that in order to maintain the independence that so many fought and died for hundreds of years ago, we need to being doing more to encourage respectiful and active exchange. All forms of honest and rspectful communication are fine, Some are more effective than others. It is those that that I wish to see.