Quotes About Public discourse

Anyone who's had a casual conversation with his neighbors or is cognizant of reality TV should already be petrified of democracy.

The political climate during a campaign is not the best climate for reasonable debate.

I love talking to the public, I love hearing what people have got to say.

Both referred to the Affordable Care Act, which is the accurate title of the health care reform law, as 'Obamacare.' That is a disparaging reference to the President of the United States, it is meant as a disparaging reference to the President of the United States.

I think it's just funny, the things that come out of people's mouths, whether it's a politician, whether it's an average person on the street - and to be honest with you, sometimes these politicians sound like average people on the street.

Formal talks are the special opportunity we give ourselves to discuss our private work in a public voice, to make the labor of our minds and hearts communal.

We cannot solve the problems of America if every time somebody somewhere says something stupid, that everybody gets up in arms and we forget about the war in Iraq or we forget about the economy.

I don't mind the debates, they're good for America, but we shouldn't be out there attacking each other all the time.

We have free speech. Maybe. But do we have Really Free Speech? If what we have to say doesn't "sell," will we still say it? Can we? Or is everybody looking for Things That Sell to say?

Free speech, too, is under relentless assault where it matters most—around elections—and it is being sanctified where it matters least, around strippers' poles and on terrorist Web sites.

Many smart folks seem to think that if you just get your metaphors and messages right, you'll win. That if you start describing what you favor as a 'moral value' - 'affordable health care is a moral value' etc., - then you'll appeal to red-state voters.

People who listen to NPR are forever thanking the hosts for 'sharing,' or 'initiating a dialogue,' or 'taking the time to explain this very important issue.'

Why can't we give the American people a break and separate humor from politics?

People often complain that no one likes facts and numbers and reason and science anymore, but as someone who talks about those things in public, I can tell you that's not true. People love numbers, and are impressed by them, sometimes more than they should be.

When you're the person in the room with the microphone, you have a platform to talk about whatever you want, and it's much more interesting if we're discussing something that feels relevant.

Everyone has the right to practice their religious beliefs in private but expect that people might publicly reject said beliefs.

Sermons remain one of the last forms of public discourse where it is culturally forbidden to talk back.

I mean, to call the press the enemy is dangerous and just remarkably bizarre.

The news is increasingly full of mismatched people saying daft things to one another.

I've sat behind a microphone and listened for decades as Americans learned to stop talking with each other and start shouting instead. No discussions, just 'socialist' or 'fascist' or 'feminazi' or 'bigot' or whatever. So here's what I want to say, and I think it's the one thing no one ever says any more in our public life: I think you're wrong, but you may be right .

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one. Most people are quite fond of their own, especially in private. Yet they're not really something that should be waved around too much in public. When they are, it's okay to ignore them, because showing them off, unsolicited, is actually kind of rude.

You have a lot of people asking for town halls with the purpose of disrupting a town hall.

Immigration has been a sensitive and sometimes toxic issue for more than half a century.

There needs to be debates, like we're going through. There needs to be townhall meetings. There needs to be travel. This is a huge country.