{"id":170732,"date":"2023-03-16T12:06:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T16:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=170732"},"modified":"2023-03-16T12:06:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T16:06:56","slug":"commentary-let-us-always-keep-the-discourse-cordial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-let-us-always-keep-the-discourse-cordial\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: Let us always keep the discourse cordial"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Audley Phillip<\/h1>\n

LET US ALWAYS\u00a0KEEP THE DISCOURSE\u00a0CORDIAL – Name-calling does nothing to advance the discussion<\/h1>\n
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It’s OK to disagree. Seriously, it’s human nature. If you think otherwise, you are an idiot.\u00a0 Oops, I just indulged in the sort of name-calling that is all too common in our political discourse.<\/p>

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When we resort to name-calling, we are telling others that we are not interested in what they have to say. Our\u00a0mind is closed.<\/p>\n

Name-calling does nothing to advance a discussion, nor does it help resolve disagreements. It does the opposite. It conveys hostility and shuts down discourse. If we are not speaking with each other, we don’t have to recognize our common humanity.<\/p>

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People have legitimate questions and concerns in\u00a0our country today, and\u00a0 more conversation is needed. The question is how do we have conversations that are productive, rather than standoffs?<\/p>

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Technology and the internet has made it easy for those without a voice to be heard.\u00a0 \u00a0The internet has made it all too easy to engage in vitriol and attack people with whom we disagree. Such corrosive discourse carries over into our attitudes toward others.\u00a0 It is easy to get caught up in the moment in an internet free-for-all. When people start weighing\u00a0 in the comment section, it can raise one’s ire pretty quickly. I’ve gotten snippy a few times I must admit, but I now impose limits on my online reactions.<\/p>\n

Our leaders are also responsible for some of the hostile rhetoric\u00a0that we often see and hear being hurled at each other daily.\u00a0 Hateful\u00a0rhetoric connects to real world violence and when politicians\u00a0preach violence and hostility, citizens see it as an impetus to do likewise and behave badly.\u00a0 They all need to set the example and cease and desist from the hooliganistic behaviour in Parliament, on the radios or even in the communities where\u00a0they live.<\/p>

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Whether or not we agree with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker of the House or any member of Parliament for that matter, it is incumbent\u00a0upon us\u00a0to be respectful.\u00a0 Disagree by all means, but let us be respectful.<\/p>\n

I read all the online comments.\u00a0 \u00a0But I don’t engage in heated discussions. I also resolved to keep my comments respectful. I refuse to be a part of the problem.<\/p>

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If we can agree that we all are \u201ctearing our country apart,\u201d then that’s a start.\u00a0 \u00a0Maybe we can begin to find other areas of\u00a0 commonality\u00a0and agreement.<\/p>

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by Audley Phillip LET US ALWAYS\u00a0KEEP THE DISCOURSE\u00a0CORDIAL – Name-calling does nothing to advance the discussion It’s OK to disagree. Seriously, it’s human nature. If you think otherwise, you are an idiot.\u00a0 Oops, I just indulged in the sort of name-calling that is all too common in our political discourse. When we resort to name-calling, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: Let us always keep the discourse cordial - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-let-us-always-keep-the-discourse-cordial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: Let us always keep the discourse cordial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Audley Phillip LET US ALWAYS\u00a0KEEP THE DISCOURSE\u00a0CORDIAL – Name-calling does nothing to advance the discussion It’s OK to disagree. 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