The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War of Words
Do Americans argue too much? Deborah Tannen, author ofYou Just Don't UnderstandandThat's Not What I  Meant!, is an expert on miscommunication. InThe Argument Cultureshe posits that misunderstanding is endemic in our culture because we tend to believe that  the best way to a common goal is by thrashing out all our differences as loudly as  possible along the way. Thus we are treated to a whole array of confrontational public  forums, from congressional partisan politics to media circuses à la Jerry Springer  and Jenny Jones, all based on a metaphor of war. What gets lost in all the shouting,  Tannen says, is thoughtful debate and real understanding. Perhaps it's time to consider  other methods of communication, she suggests. In addition to outlining what she  considers the worst excesses of our argument culture, Tannen revisits some of the  territory covered inYou Just Don't Understandas she discusses the different  ways in which young boys and girls express disagreement or aggression. Finally, she  offers a survey of other, mostly non-Western ways of dealing with conflict, including the  use of intermediaries and rituals. After readingThe Argument Cultureyou might  never again look at the evening news in the same way.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.