This afternoon, as I did my turn on the treadmill–and let’s face it, no sensible person would have been running in that wind–I listened to a brief TED talk by Sally Kohn, a self-described progressive lesbian FoxNews talking head. The heart of Kohn’s talk lies in the idea that “emotional correctness” should trump “political correctness.” In her view, if we worried more about being civil to one another, about being decent human beings, then we could find common ground even though we have very different political beliefs. What a great idea.
I find myself writing these words on a day when the news includes a story about a retired cop shooting a man in a movie theatre. It seems that the two had an argument about the victim texting. Words were exchanged. Then shouts. Finally the victim threw a bag of popcorn at the shooter. And this retired cop, supposedly fearing for his life, drew his weapon and fired.
Anyone can listen to the people with whom they agree. Anyone can write pleasingly for the audience that already believes everything they have to say. What takes real ability, real talent, real effort is to communicate effectively with that person on the other end of the spectrum.
Emotional Correctness
This afternoon, as I did my turn on the treadmill–and let’s face it, no sensible person would have been running in that wind–I listened to a brief TED talk by Sally Kohn, a self-described progressive lesbian FoxNews talking head. The heart of Kohn’s talk lies in the idea that “emotional correctness” should trump “political correctness.” In her view, if we worried more about being civil to one another, about being decent human beings, then we could find common ground even though we have very different political beliefs. What a great idea.
I find myself writing these words on a day when the news includes a story about a retired cop shooting a man in a movie theatre. It seems that the two had an argument about the victim texting. Words were exchanged. Then shouts. Finally the victim threw a bag of popcorn at the shooter. And this retired cop, supposedly fearing for his life, drew his weapon and fired.
Anyone can listen to the people with whom they agree. Anyone can write pleasingly for the audience that already believes everything they have to say. What takes real ability, real talent, real effort is to communicate effectively with that person on the other end of the spectrum.
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