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Re: Decline of Debate

Bear's Top Ten Reasons for the Decline of Social Debate:

10. Television

    Prof. Hunt's citations support the undeniable truth that TV has
impacted negatively on communication skills. Attention spans are
decreasing in inverse relation to our demand for more entertainment.

9.  Political distrust

    Many Americans don't listen to political speeches because they
don't trust politicians. Since Watergate, Americans have slowly come
to the point of equating oratorical eloquence with political
sophistry.

8.  Social apathy

    Polls show fewer and fewer Americans believe that they have any
possibility of influencing the events unfolding around them. As they
give up and sink into the comfort of their couches, Americans wish to
avoid confronting social problems.

7.  Political partisanship

    We know that whatever the Republicans say, the Democrats will say
the opposite. And vice versa, of course. The info explosion now makes
it possible for both sides to rally all the "facts" necessary to prove
their position. Apathetic Americans are too confused, uneducated, and
diverted to want to exert the mental energies to sort it all out.

6.  Disdain of education

    I am amazed at the number of people expressing the desire to cut
educational funding. My conversations with people on commercial
onlines have shocked me into the realization that many (if not most)
Americans blame teachers for the crisis that is plaguing American
education. Their collective answer seems to be to reduce educational
expenditures, since these are wasted monies. The prevalence of such
attitudes suggests disrespect for anyone voicing alternative
perspectives.

5. Social atomization

    Most of us find ourselves simply interacting with other people
less and less. We retreat to our offices and homes and focus on
watching TV. If we're particularly social, we may buy a computer so
that we can "flame" against anyone who disagrees with us, protected
by the barrier of an anonymous screen name. The "what's-in-it-for-me"
philosophy has replaced any notion of hammering out what's best for
our communities.

4. The rise of vocational education

    I'm seeing more and more students who are totally unconcerned in
working on the development of tangential skills such as public
speaking. Students seem to ignore the the fact that communication is
essential in all professions. The result is that our educational
institutions are pumping out more and more professionals who, while
knowing their fields, are less and less capable of public speaking,
appreciation of literature, or even constructing semi-grammatical
sentences. I saw a poll in a legal journal that suggested that 40% of
students graduating from law schools have never taken a single class
in public speaking. My sister is a lawyer and, unfortunately, is in
this category.

3. Disintegration of the American family

    My own personal love and, respect, for debate started early in
life. Some of my earliest memories involve recollections of listening
to my Irish father's fifteen brothers and sisters debate local
political issues around the dining room table. Being allowed to take
part in those conversations marked a very important turning point in
my life. While I know that it is chic to blame all social ills on the
disintegration of the family, I cant help but wonder how many of the
serious social problems we are witnessing might be at least partially
due to the fact that young children seem to have fewer and fewer role
models demonstrating the skills of verbal accomodation.

2. Political reliance on "simple" solutions

    I know this reason reflects my own political biases, but since
the beginning of the Reagan era, Americans have been conditioned to
believe that there are simple answers to all social issues. For
example, polls show a growing majority of Americans now believe that
most of our social problems could best be alleviated by simply
reducing governmental bureaucracy. When the factor of "returning to
basic religious values" is added to the calculation, the majority
grows. While these may be parts of any solutions, reliance on these
basic stances only serves to hide the real complexities of most of
the problems that face us. Too many of our political leaders display
open hostility to the notion of applying logic to what are
essentially emotional claims. Our leaders employ communication simply
to reinforce or "sell" their positions, not as part of any dialectic
geared toward working out the best compromise.

1. The decline of speech education

    As a profession, we are negligent for not pushing for higher
standards. We need to push harder for more required communication
courses. Fewer schools require public speaking as a graduation
prerequisite now than at anytime in the last thirty years. Virtually
no university requires classes in argumentation or debate as a
condition of graduation. We must, as a profession, work more
diligently at "selling" the realization that communication courses,
public speaking and argumentation in particular, are truly necessary
for the survival of our society in the 21st Century.


    Yes, I know that I have employed many stereotypes. There are
clearly many possible counter-examples. Still, I believe that there
are many answers to Tom's original question. I also believe that
concrete steps must be undertaken immediately if the present
disintegration of social debate is to be reversed. I stand open for
your critiques.


Michael Bryant
Weber State University
Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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