Can we all take a breath and stop getting so worked up about differing views?
Has the qualit y of public discourse deteriorated in recent years? Expressions of opinion or belief that differ from others’ views are often rubbished, instead of being responded to in a reasoned way. The people holding opp osing views are then accused of being bigoted at worst or prejudiced at least. The spor ting analog y about playing the man instead of the ball is apt. The media do not help when t hey r ef er t o dif- ferences of opinion as “rows” or “battles” and assume that the people involved are antagonistic toward one another personally. The ability to conduct public debate by focusing solely on the issues, their merits and the counter arguments has been in decline and, I believe, continues to be.
There will always be tens ions between minority views and majority opinion on almost any subject, and different minorities often find themselves at odds with one another. But it is depressing to experience aggressive attitudes instead of reasoned arguments, and the issues are not clarified by name calling, by dismissing counterarguments out of hand, or by attempts to diminish people who hold inconvenient opinions.
Why has this happened? Has an intellectual violence crept into public life that corresponds to an increasingly violence-obsessed entertainment and gaming industry? Do we expect to zap opponents with a single blast and silence them for good? We deceive ourselves if we think this approach to debate is going to result in measured judgements and sound pub - lic policy.
Freedom of speech, which we value highly in these islands, demands mutual respect. But respect is at risk of being lost in our progress toward lower standards of debate, as though some gravitational force was pulling us down inexorably. Sadly, these thoughts have their origin in political events in recent years where headstrong national leaders have committed us to actions we would not have sanctioned had there been information made available and more honest debate. And some of our most distinguished universities have student bodies that have tried to ban dissenting voices from being able to speak out. These may be our future leaders. Where will they lead us?
The need for a renaissance of public deference cries out for attention. But are we listening?
GEOFF MILLER, Newtyle, Blairgowrie