The Right to Be Wrong

Somewhere along the way during civility’s decline in everyday debate and discussion, we’ve lost something far more precious than common courtesy.

That is — the right to be wrong.

No matter where it occurs — with talking heads on television, at online forums and discussion groups, even in public places from classrooms to bars — debate and discussion have morphed into a vicious blood sport rather than a freewheeling exchange of interesting ideas and possibilities.  It’s open season everywhere.  Truth isn’t necessarily the pursuit, but the target.

Indeed, the objective has become winning at all costs.  How one plays the game no longer matters.  Achieving a greater understanding about an important issue or gaining enlightenment about something new is a low priority, if it matters at all.  Rather, the goal of typical debate nowadays is conquering and ultimately destroying the opposition.