Debating Myself

One of the most disappointing parts of college for me has been the lack of an intelligent, diverse, and spirited political discourse. I used to think this was a symptom of undergraduates in general, or American political apathy, but I think the problem runs much deeper. Diana C. Mutz, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, recently published a book, titled Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative v. Participatory Democracy, on the habits of Americans in discussing politics. I have not yet read this book, only an excellent review by Benjamin Page in Political Science Quarterly (Fall 2007 issue). Page lists some of the key findings:

Given an opportunity to name up to four political discussion partners, only about one-quarter of Americans come up with even a single person who disagrees with them about presidential candidates (p. 40).

Neighborhoods and voluntary associations, favored foci of some deliberation theorists, actually engender few political discussions of any sort and are particularly barren of disagreements; workplaces produce more (p. 28).

Individuals with high levels of income, education, and knowledge, the big participators in American politics, rarely talk with opponents; low-income people and minorities do so more often (pp. 30, 31)

In a way this lack of a political discourse is what this blog is all about. This blog is a way for me to seek out and present opposing viewpoints in a way that is less personal and gives people less cause to be defensive. I am constantly seeking out new political viewpoints and ideas, and the internet is a great way to put these viewpoints together and discuss them. I am a firm believer in the marketplace of ideas and the only way that marketplace can function is if information flows freely and undistorted among people—something I have not found. The internet is the only forum that comes close—particularly the blogosphere. (more…)

Paul Silver, over at The Moderate Voice, points out that moderate voices are not more prevalent, and what the term ‘moderate’ really means:

Few of the central controversies in our society can be resolved by simple extreme answers: they do not reduce to: power versus finesse, carrot versus stick, civil liberties versus security, and it certainly isn’t liberal versus conservative. It is almost always a balance and blend.

Moderate voices aren’t present enough. People search for easy answers in extremism, ideologies, or one-sided discourse that only reaffirms poorly formed policies. The left and the right are both susceptible to offering what seem like easy answers, but they are not. The only way toward truly successful solutions is through a moderate dialog between ideas coming from both the left and the right.

As a moderate myself, I often find myself torn between left and right wing ideologies that rarely address the issues in a convincing and meaningful way. In the flash and buzz of cable TV news spin machines, sound bytes on talk radio, and left and right wing shock columns in national newspapers across the country America is losing its ability to generate meaningful and well-reasoned political discourse. Moderate voices don’t get TV ratings and don’t raise the passions of Americans in the way that more ideologically biased voices tend to do. Fortunately, for those looking for a more balanced discourse the Moderate Voice is a great starting point for getting in touch with blogs across the entire political spectrum—left, right and the middle.

Over the next few weeks I will be selecting several blogs across the political spectrum to feature in the link section of this page. The links will be divided accordingly so their ideological bias is known upfront and readers can decide for themselves what ideology to look at and find a diverse array of political opinions to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.