Street Roots • Aug. 26
Book Review
Page 10
Learning to speak the truth without punishing the listener
BY GAYLE CLEMANS
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
un control. Transgender rights. Black
Lives Matter. The war on terrorism.
G
I’m Right and
You’re an Idiot:
The Toxic State
of Public
Discourse and
How to Clean it
Up by James
Hoggan with
Grania Litwin
There are many hot-button issues
these days, complex topics that demand
consideration and debate. But the efficacy
and repercussions of such polarizing debates
are also open to question.
Minds aren’t changed. People scream and
yell. Insults are hurled. And much worse.
When public discourse turns hateful — as it
so often does — I’ve often wondered if
anything is being accomplished.
So when I came across a book titled, “I’m
Right and You’re an Idiot: The Toxic State of
Public Discourse and How to Clean it Up,” I
was thrilled. I dove in hoping to find answers
about why these exchanges on Facebook or
Twitter, in the streets or in public squares,
can get so ugly so quickly.
I didn’t. Not directly, anyway.
Turns out, I misunderstood the author’s
use of the term “public discourse.” Rather
than talking about online comment culture or
how average individuals use angry rhetoric in
public forums, the book is geared toward
larger-scale public advocacy, toward those
people who are systemically or professionally
involved in persuading others about their
causes.
More specifically, it relates to those
e n g a g e d in a d v o c a tin g fo r e n v iro n m e n ta l
protection. All of which makes sense, given
that the author, public relations executive
James Hoggan, has spent decades demanding
action on climate change and combatting
what he sees as the deliberate denial of
scientific evidence.
Grania Litwin, newspaper columnist for the
Times Colonist in British Columbia, is listed
as co-author, but the book is written from
Hoggan’s point of view.
Out of frustration more than anything,
Hoggan set out to understand what makes
presumably reasonable people dig into
unreasonable positions.
While Hoggan’s quest to understand his
particular experiences frames the book, he
makes frequent efforts to broaden his topic.
And there are many larger lessons to be
learned here.
The book’s organization is key. Each
chapter pulls from the author’s conversations
with an impressive array of diverse thinkers
such as linguist-political theorist Noam
Chomsky, social psychologist Carol Tavris and
public policy scholar Marshall Ganz.
One of my favorite chapters, “Facts Are
Not Enough,” features American linguist and
cognitive scientist George Lakoff and his
longstanding work on “frames,” the value
laden lenses through which we perceive the
world. According to Lakoff, we don’t perceive
facts objectively. Facts are always framed,
and, therefore, advocates should not simply
rely on their own understanding of “the facts”
to persuade others. Lakoff advises, “Get clear
on your values, and start using the language
of values.”
Similarly, the chapter titled “Matters of
Concern” revolves around French philosopher
Bruno Latour and his work on “controversy
mapping.” This involves getting the lay of the
land of a shared dispute: who the experts are,
and, most importantly, which biases are held
by whom. An absolute “truth” is set aside, in
favor of engagement
The shared dispute becomes the common
ground.
While every chapter offered me something
— a new author to read, a new frame to
consider — some were a bit lacking in
complexity.
The last chapter, “We Need
Warmheartedness,” centers around Hoggan’s
encounters with the 14th Dalai Lama who
states, “We must respect all different forms of
life, with less concern for getting something
back.”
With all due respect for His Holiness, the
book, at times, neglects to dig deeper into
these kinds of statements and can read like
an environmental policy version of “Eat Pray
Love.”
Hoggan’s public relations background may
have something to do with it. In fact, he
acknowledges his profession’s tendency
toward simplification, stating, “our role is to
create understanding with maximum clarity
and brevity.”
But the book is clearly a labor of love,
stemming from Hoggan’s heartfelt desire to
understand why consensus on climate change
is so hard to come by. It will have the highest
appeal for those folks who have shared a
similar journey, those deeply involved in
environmental causes.
And for those of us looking for a broader
understanding of the dynamics of polarized
public debate? Well, we might wish for more
examples outside of environmentalism, but
there’s plenty to ponder.
At its best, the book is a forum, a gathering
of minds exploring the underlying history and
psychology of public discourse. And, further,
it offers some practical methods for
overcoming barriers to real communication
and cooperation.
As such, this book should be required
reading for politicians and public advocates.
And good news for those politicians who
aren’t big readers: The authors construct the
book as a whole, laying out pieces that
connect with each other as you progress, but
each short chapter is easily digestible on its
own.
Hoggan concludes with “Lessons Learned,”
a smattering of hopeful points that should
offer soul-balm to even the most cynical
public servants and issues advocates. Hoggan
writes that “the goal of public discourse
should be to encourage participation and
expose the truth, not to discourage
opposition or crush those who disagree.”
He goes on to draw inspiration from the
Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace
activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, who claims that we
should “speak the truth, but not to punish.”
Hoggan surmises that we must “develop a
greater capacity for self-awareness and self-
control because people who monitor their
attitudes toward others and don’t allow
resentment to flare can actually hear what
others are saying and begin to communicate.”
Easier said than done, of course. But that
doesn’t mean it isn’t worth saying. And doing.
Republished from Real Change News, Seattle
Illustration by Jon Williams, Real Change
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