Chapter 6 Blog Post

This chapter continues the theme of "learning from difference," this time relating it to ethics in public discourse.  The authors make a good point on page 103 when they explain how the point of public discourse is to express a variety of ideas that are communicated to others which influence their opinions on the issues.  Another good point in Chapter 6 is on page 106 with the authors writing that "learning within a public realm assists knowledge of one's own private position."  When we hear someone else state their views on a subject we often compare it to our own thoughts on that subject.  Sometimes this process can lead us to modify our view on the subject or it can strengthen our position. 


The section about "An Invasion of Banality" was interesting to read.  The book talks about communication ethics violations occurring when people allow the line between the public and private realms to be blurred.  The examples given about people allowing cell phones and other technology to disrupt the private or public environment were good and it was interesting to see these examples labeled violations of communication ethics.  Cell phones are everywhere and this section made me wonder if the widespread use of cell phones cause people to lose sight of how cell phones can be a disruption to the "private realm" as they distract us from the people around us.