A Primer for Improving our Discourse

Convinced that the mainstream media generated and social media amplified discourse is now of, for and by the echo chambers, this writer has often wondered what kind of writing and questioning will help break the echo chambers, build a constituency for the center and engage those keen on knowing more but intimidated by the level of volume in echo chambers.

He was recently asked to comment on a very contentious issue, by people still not sucked in an echo chamber, keen to know the facts, read his opinion and make up their own mind on the issue.

The conversation, it included an exchange of a link that is a primary source of information on the issue, helped this writer, a self-proclaimed centrist, enumerate his thought process. For whatever its worth, sharing the same.

Ask what do you believe in: What are your first principles?

First Principles are the fundamental assumptions/conclusions that you are unwilling to argue on or compromise.

Here are some of my First Principles:

· Agency of the Individual: An individual knows what the best for him/her is. She knows what she wants from her life and how to go about getting it. Don’t condescend her. Don’t presume you know what is right for her and that she needs to be guided.

· Primacy of Individual Rights: An individual’s life and his choices have primacy over any kind of group rights or beliefs. Human life is sacrosanct and cannot be sacrificed at alter of faith, customs or dietary habits. As long as you are not interfering in my life you are free to live your life the way you want to and how you want to.

· Restriction on Free Speech: Do not instigate violence; if your words can cause physical harm to other human beings then I am fine if the state restricts your freedom of free speech.

Everything else you say is Kosher.

Yes, your racism and casteism too!

If you indulge in racist and caste slurs, I will name and shame you in public forums and call for your social boycott.

That is my freedom of speech.

· State has Monopoly over Violence: There is no justification for private citizens taking up violence. Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies perpetration of violence by individuals.

· State cannot discriminate on basis of Gender, Caste, Religion or on grounds of Sexual Orientation: In the matters of drafting and implementing the law of the land, the state cannot discriminate, positively or negatively, its citizens.

· A corrupt and incompetent but democratically elected government is better than and preferable to a government of the un-elected: Between an elected politician of any political stripe and a judge of the supreme court or a retired judge of a tribunal, I back the elected politician.

Spend time with yourself in deducing your first principles and articulating them.

Get Your Facts:

Before you decide to pick up cudgels, get your facts right.

Seek the primary source of information.

No, I read it in the newspaper or heard it on the news channel does not count.

Medias business model is broken.

It is incapable of reporting factually correct information.

Yes, if it is on WhatsApp or on your Facebook wall its most probably a rumor and can be safely ignored.

The best primary source are websites, notifications and announcements made by concerned government departments/ companies.

If you are finding it difficult to locate the primary source, at least check two secondary sources.

Spend time establishing secondary sources.

Read, Ask, Question.

No, it is not easy, and one needs to put in a lot of effort.

Well, who said forming an informed opinion was going to be easy?

Formulate an Opinion and Share it:

Once you are confident you have got the facts right, put them in the framework you have designed with your first principles.

There is no rush, that Facebook post can wait- your opinion will not get dated if you share it a day later.

Once you have satisfied yourself that you have formulated a fact based, well rounded argument that is true to your first principles- World is your oyster.

Share it with the world.

It can do with reasoned arguments, trust me it can.

Modern civilization is nothing if not a giant investment of capital and technology with a singular objective- make you a broadcaster of who you are, what you want and how you want the world to see you.

Things to Remember:

Engage: No, you are not unimportant. Talk, argue, question. Democracy is not just standing in the line one day in five years and pressing a button. We are a thriving democracy and it needs to be cherished and sustained. Indifference and cynicism, do it a disservice. There are over a billion people on this planet who crave for your freedom of expression.

Stay Dispassionate: Don’t look up for facts that corroborate your thesis. When assessing and verifying facts forget what you believe in, be objective. This will help you avoid confirmation bias.

Don’t make it Personal: While arguing, don’t make it about the person making the argument, stick to the argument. If you lose an argument, Man up. Verify the facts that you brought to the argument. There is no shame in reassessing or changing your stand if the facts don’t add up.

Be Consistent: You cannot be a non-vegetarian and an animal rights activist at the same time.

Argue don’t participate in Outrage: The former, if grounded in facts and presented without the hyperbole, is invaluable. The latter, mostly entails sharing click baits on social media with a smart Alec comment thrown in. It will give you the rush of validation from your echo chamber but that is all it does, it betters nobody’s understanding of the issue or your point of view.

It is Ok if you don’t React: We live in a world struggling with over communication. Mental bandwidth is limited. Expend it on issues you truly feel for. Don’t react to every stimulus. The quantity of your engagement often has an inverse relation to the quality of your engagement.

Wishing you Happy and Fruitful Engagements.

Yes, the title of the post is … well all writing is act of Hubris 😊