Fragmentum Epistulae 288a-305d
General sources
Non-Fiction, A Mouthful of Air: Language and Languages, Especially English (1992)
“Political discourse becomes isolated, and isolated discourse becomes more extreme.”
Free Culture (2004)
Context: We, the most powerful democracy in the world, have developed a strong norm against talking about politics. It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with. Political discourse becomes isolated, and isolated discourse becomes more extreme. We say what our friends want to hear, and hear very little beyond what our friends say.
Source: The Value of Science (1905), Ch. 11: Science and Reality
It isn't.
Boingboing.net, Jimmy Wales tells "energy workers" that Wikipedia won't publish woo, "the work of lunatic charlatans isn't the equivalent of 'true scientific discourse'" http://boingboing.net/2014/03/26/jimmy-wales-tells-energy-wor.html
“Why has America's public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned?”
Quotes, The Assault on Reason (2007)
Context: For the first time in American history, the Executive Branch of our government has not only condoned but actively promoted the treatment of captives in wartime that clearly involves torture, thus overturning a prohibition established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
It is too easy — and too partisan — to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press. Have they all failed us? Why has America's public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned? Faith in the power of reason — the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power — remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.
Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1784), Lecture I: Introduction.
On Poesy or Art (1818)
Cited in: Rex Robert Dolan (1967). The big change: the challenge to radical change in the Church.
Source: The step to man, 1966, p.178.
“It is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse.”
Quotes, The Assault on Reason (2007)
Context: It is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. I know I am not alone in feeling that something has gone fundamentally wrong. In 2001, I had hoped it was an aberration when polls showed that three-quarters of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on Sept. 11. More than five years later, however, nearly half of the American public still believes Saddam was connected to the attack.
