Refreshing

My faith in civil debate has been restored, at least a little bit. I was flipping through the channels a few moments ago and came across the Mike Huckabee show on Fox News. I didn't really know a lot about Huckabee and wasn't really clear on what he believed. My respect level for him rose a great deal after watching a segment of his show.

The actor Richard Dreyfuss was his guest and they carried on a civil discussion about civics. It was Dreyfuss' position and I agree that there needs to be a greater discussion about the history of this nation and the responsibility of all its citizens to take part in the process. I think that people have been discouraged to do this because they get shouted down by people who disagree with them. I think that people don't debate topics because they don't know how to think. Because of this, they feel they must yell louder to get their point across. Dreyfuss feels we need to educate our children and ourselves so that we can carry on civil debates about important topics.

Putting this theory to test was Huckabee in his next segment. Huckabee, a devout Christian, interviewed Bill Maher, decidedly not a Christian. Though they disagreed vehemently, neither of them raised their voices once. They were able to speak in a civilized manner even though they were polar opposites. This exchange encouraged me greatly that people can disagree and not shoot each other. What a refreshing thought.

I think this should be looked at more closely. I personally don't watch or listen to shows where either the interviewer or the interviewee yell because they disagree. In my experience, yelling doesn't change the fact that I'm wrong. Being louder than the other person is no way to win an argument. Hurling insults and one-liners is no way to influence people. Let's be thoughtful and civil. Let's learn how to engage one another in debate even if we disagree.