The first real post

So now I've finished with the introductions, and it's time to write something real. I've been chewing on this one for a while now.

The past couple of weeks have been interesting ones nationally and locally in the area of political expression. From the halls of Congress to our classrooms to the machinery of our state's Democratic Party, discussions have abounded about what things should be said, what things should never be said, and who can say what, when.

I think that's a good thing. Without realizing it, our nation has fallen into a long discussion about the nature of political discourse. I'll avoid talking about how "meta" that is. But I don't think such discussions can do anything but strengthen our political culture.

Some folks have criticized the editor of the new edition of Mark Twain's classic Huckleberry Finn for removing all instances of the N-word. Others have criticized Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Chip Forrester for suggesting that members of the executive committee were out of their depth in choosing to vote for one of his opponents. Others have condemned Sarah Palin for helping set the tone nationally that may or may not have led to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killing of several others. And others criticized the House Republicans for selectively editing the Constitution when they read it aloud in the early days of the new Congress.

For the purposes of this little essay, who's right on these issues and who is in error is irrelevant. What's made me proud has been the way in which everybody from my grocery clerk to my grandmother to my President has taken the opportunity afforded by these events to discuss the way we speak to one another as a nation.

In a nation whose discourse is largely dictated by a few media companies, such democratization of punditry is a healthy thing. Of course, in the case of most of the aforementioned news items, they were indeed fed to us by the national media. But what I've heard from the people I run into on a daily basis is not just a rehashing of tired MSNBC or Fox News talking points. The talking heads were just a catalyst for a great national dialog still taking place and sustaining itself without relying on a live CNN feed to stoke interest. This poll shows that the public did not take the word of those on TV for gospel when the elected and unelected opinionmakers of the left claimed that harsh rhetoric led directly to the Arizona shootings. Instead, Americans have formed their own opinions in the refreshing quiet of their own souls and in concert with their friends and family.

So talking about how we speak to one another seems to have brought about a truer, broader exercise of our right to free speech than I can recall experiencing in some time. Inevitably, the old media will try to rein in the untrustworthy masses, and young Zuckerberg will find another way to channel our thoughts in the guise of providing greater outlet for self-expression for the masses. But little spurts of independent thought like we've experienced in the past fortnight will continue to keep our democracy fresh.