Noise

Chapter 7The Loss of Civil Discourse

Watching television wasn’t how Rebecca usually spent her evenings.

She was typically busy after work with friends, volunteering, and going to grad school. It was a rainy Monday night, and Rebecca was exhausted after a long day at work. She had lots of meetings and project work and was glued to her phone, e-mailing teammates all day, and checking on a new vendor.

Rebecca didn’t want to see her smartphone anymore, not even to check social media or to text a friend, something she’d instinctively do to relax and kill time. She was communicating so much during the day that she felt like her phone was an extension of work, so she ditched it and turned on cable news,

something totally different.

Her Civic Duty

What she saw on one of the first news stations caught her eye. It was a political debate. Since it was election season, she thought it was her responsibility as a taxpayer to tune in and hear the issues.

“I went in with an open mind,” she confessed. “I have opinions, of course, but I really wanted to hear the facts explained from different points of view.”

Paul, the first candidate, opened with a vicious, personal attack on Stacey, his opponent. Stacey responded by cutting Paul off, midsentence. The facilitator looked flustered and tried to intervene and create a balanced conversation.

It didn’t work.

Stacey knew Paul’s negative comments might cast a cloud on her character and sway undecided voters, maybe bringing people like Rebecca to ...