There is a line in a Simon & Garfunkel song, “People talking without speaking/People hearing without listening.”
Political discourse is reduced to sound bites. Words are being thrown out in print or in speeches and are left dangling in the air. Advertisements are confined to negative commentary about opponents, and listeners’ takeaway is confined to simple words like “liberal” or “conservative.” Each of those words carry their respective qualitative value but no real substance.
The words are “talked,” spumed out to maximize sound bite impact. Our retention is limited. Effort is not spent on “speaking,” elaborating on ideas, positions, strengths. We are “hearing” words that resonate with established positions but not “listening” to what is said and what is not said.
The success of our democratic experiment demands that we speak and listen.
David Hyde
Pownal
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.