Chapter 12 Communication Ethics Literacy and Difference

I thought this chapter did a good job of wrapping up the text book and bringing it back full circle. I especially liked the closing sentence: "Such commitment (one to learning) reminds us of a basic communication ethics conviction in an age of narrative and virtue contention-- learn from difference, and as one chooses, do not lose the pragmatic necessity of doubt and 'maybe' in a time of change and recognized difference" (227). I felt like all of the major concepts that we focused on were woven in such as making sure learning is at the center of dialogue, we all have different narratives that are shaping the way that we view this postmodern world, and we should all remember that we should be responsive to the particular historical moment (pragmatic necessity) (210). However in this chapter, I particularly found the concepts of narrative and crisis communication the most interesting.

Narrative, as we all know is not a new concept to us, and we know that each of us has our own.With that being said, it is easy to fall into the individualistic trap that causes us to lose sight of the importance, feelings and beliefs of others. A question that was posed in the book also got me thinking. It said, "How and what can I learn from and about the Other's position when I am in disagreement, and how does this insight add texture to my own standpoint?" (224). I can't help but think how much change could take place in the world if instead of making judgments, people tried to understand. After finishing this text, I believe that's ultimately what ethics comes down to. If someone doesn't make an attempt to understand the underlying narratives while communicating, ethics are almost certain to break down at some point. And that brings up crisis communication. As the text points out, you will face someone whose good is different than yours at some point in time (every day here in America). That doesn't mean that we have to agree with every stance, but we are called to learn and try to understand, and then maybe we can focus more on communication rather than the crisis. An example relevant to my life is my girlfriend leads a Christian group at school, and was approached by a Muslim student about coming to one of their group meetings. Clearly there are differences between these two groups, and in certain settings the two groups are sometimes hostile towards each other. However, she saw an opportunity that by going, she could learn more about a religion, and open dialogue between the two groups. Unfortunately it hasn't happened yet, so I don't have anything else to report, but I thought this was a perfect example of how we should also strive to understand people, thus becoming the most effective and ethical communicators possible.