This is part of a transcript from a speech given by John Fitzgerald Kennedy in front of the American Newspaper Publishers Association on April 27, 1961.
"Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed--and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment-- the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants"--but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion."
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We live in a reactionary world. Whether to some that may be good or bad, that's not my decision to decide for anyone. I can only present what I believe in my opinion to be true.
I find the current situation to be toxifying, not for what most people would think, though. The idea that we can live in a society that has such diverse opinions and people are allowed to have staunch ideals but at the same time can disagree and debate issues freely is encouraging.
However, I find that America is becoming consumed by identity politics in this "us vs. them" mentality. Where people are more content staying within their "thought chambers" where only ideas that agree with their ideologies are acceptable and are unable to listen to opposing views.
This is not an attack on the left or the right; this is a plea to look past the ridiculous concept that there is some team game that your side is winning or that your side is losing and realize that America only succeeds when the best interests of all are met.
If you have a disagreement about an issue facing this country, debate it, present your information in a respectable way, and provide quality sourcing, don't just Google it and click on the first article you see, and think that's all you need.
If you are passionate about an issue, then prove it by putting great effort in your work, and always look at where you get your information, and question, does this author have an ulterior motive?
When you debate the issue with a colleague, or whoever it may be, remain respectful of what they have to say, and listen to their point of view. You may not always agree with what they say, but be analytical, don't be emotional.
No one's mind ever got changed when, instead of respectfully disagreeing and providing a proper case, all you do is try and overtalk someone and claim outrageous statements; no one is automatically a bigot because they disagree with you.
I personally believe terms such as racist, bigot, and other terms which should have serious implications and should not be thrown out casually are being overused as a way to smear and discredit those who disagree with them. That's an opinion I can provide an article for. However, that doesn't close the books on the matter - someone can disagree with that, and that's okay.
However, it's nearly unacceptable to act as if you're an expert in some field you likely know little about; I don't claim to be one myself, I'm just a guy with an opinion, like everyone else.
I don't claim to be an expert in Psychology just because I took a college course; I'm not an expert on environmental politics just because I watch documentaries, I go into arguments with what I have, knowing that I should understand that I may learn something that I may not have known about. Because if you care about an issue, sometimes an opposing view may actually be a better alternative than with what you thought was the right alternative, or maybe it's somewhere in the middle.
If you want to try in a world of ultimatums, you're never going to accomplish anything. All you're going to do is further hurt your causes.
I would feel better knowing that those who disagree with me have the ability to disagree with me openly, rather than to try and shut them out.
The right to freedom of speech is given to all Americans, not to just the ones you agree with.
