Our degraded public discourse reflects poorly on all of us

Scholars of change remind us that if you throw a frog into boiling water, the frog will hop right out of the pot … but if you put the frog in the pot and gradually bring the water to a boil, the frog will stay put — and expire. The scholars’ point is that conditions we would find repugnant, even perilous, if introduced suddenly or wholesale, we will accept without a twitch when introduced incrementally.

I wonder if that explains what we now seem to consider acceptable in public discourse in Great Falls. For the past two decades, steeped in the national cauldron of rant radio and "yell-a-vision," maybe we’ve come to accept and even expect a volley of vitriol in lieu of the lively learning that is the purpose of political debate.

By MARY SHEEHY MOE

Full Commentary: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110104/OPINION/101040305/Our-degraded-public-discourse-reflects-poorly-on-all-of-us