Arguing to Death: Socrates in America

Here's an excerpt from a superb article in the Dec. 17 edition of the "Economist."

In 1968 Stringfellow Barr, an historian and president of St. John's College in Maryland, wrote a Socratic critique of American discourse: "There is pathos in television dialogue: the rapid exchange of monologues that fail to find the issue, like ships passing in the night; the reiterated preface, 'I think that...,' as if it mattered who held which opinion rather than which opinion is worth holding; the impressive personal vanity that prevents each 'discussant' from really listening to another speaker".

Complete article:
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15108704