WE NEED TO TALK

It started in college.  I was news editor for our newspaper one year, and then moved to writing editorials and a column.  I wrote during my working life, but it was mostly business related.  I like to talk about the contemporary.  Maybe that’s it, I want to talk about things, not just write about them.  My list grows every day.

Hemingway said he tried to write “one true sentence,” and then the rest would follow.  He advised us not to stop writing until we knew what was going to happen next.  Easy for him to say, he was writing fiction.  (I’ve never written fiction.)  Profundity is different and writing a true sentence isn’t easy.  Moreover, I don’t know what’s going to happen next.

Recently, a commentator on Charlie Rose pointed out that people don’t talk much anymore; you know, have serious conversations.  Maybe we never did.  I learned never to discuss religion, sex, or politics in polite company.  I’m not sure that’s a good thing.  It doesn’t leave much.

I bring it on myself you know.  Most people only watch TV news programs with which they agree.  Some don’t watch any.  I try to listen to both points of view, Fox News and MSNBC for example or blogs of the same ilk, Red State and Huffpost and those in between.  Television reduces the ten-second sound bite to an art form.  The PBS News Hour seems to take too long for most people, an hour, with both sides of an issue having a dialogue.  Talk radio spews ad homonyms, which many people believe.

I’m guilty too.  More and more I want to hang out with those who agree with me.  I avoid discussing politics with most people for fear of offending them, or they me.  So much goes unsaid.  Part of the mess in Washington, I think, is that we don’t discuss the important issues. We talk around them, at best.

Health care is an example.  One reason for the national dysfunction around the issue is that we don’t discuss healthcare as much as we discuss how to pay for it.  Perhaps my left coast assessment is different from the heartland, but as a nation, I don’t think we have discussed what we mean by quality health care, or if everyone should have it.  What we do know is that Americans pay more for health care per person than any industrialized nation, and it has poorer outcomes by almost any measure.  Our infant mortality rate is fifth highest in the industrialized world.  Let’s talk about that before we talk about insurance.

Sound bites aren't discussion and are usually based on something less than factual.  What does science say about global warming?  Do humans contribute to it or not?  How many middle class jobs were shipped overseas in the last ten years, compared to how many jobs were replaced by robots?  Should our education system ensure our ability to compete in the world or should each of the nearly 14,000 school districts determine its own curriculum?  Are we satisfied that the U.S. ranks 14^th in reading, 25^th in math and 17^th in science on the worldwide high school test?  Should undocumented immigrants be deported or should we find a way to assimilate them over time?  Should we have a litmus test for judges and whose would it be?  How do we reduce gun violence within the confines of the Second Amendment?  Can we ensure job parity and pay equity for all races and genders?  How can we reduce the number of police killed in the line of duty and those killed by police?  Whew!  The list keeps growing!

Maybe we can ease into it.  Let’s start at the dinner table.  By sixth grade, at least, kids are ready for discussions about serious issues.  What do they think about current events?  By the time kids are in high school, they should be able to discuss comparative religions, international affairs, and legislative strategies.  Right?

Can we start at the coffee shop?  This latte is made from Fair Trade coffee beans.  Why is that important, Bob?  What do you think about sustainable coffee farming practices, Mary?  OK, I'm not putting those on my list!

In 2017, our nation is at a crossroad.  The extreme left wing and extreme right wing of our two major parties sow discontent and money across the land.  They “primary” those who vote against their views.  Both seem to hate moderates.  Our governance is in a stalemate.  People don’t talk to each other about important stuff.  Hate speech is more common than dialogue.  Politicians use talking points to talk at their constituents, not with them.  Constituents yell at congressional town halls.

If we used a fact-based approach, without sound bites and vitriol, we might develop a consensus about the issues facing our country.  We might reduce the hatred and extreme partisanship that is tearing us apart. 

Maybe my list will get shorter.

We really need to talk!