From here:

The ivy-covered walls have insulated John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, from understanding the fact that the majority of Americans are unable to engage in the "deep and candid dialogue" he is promoting ("Persuasion as the Cure for Incivility," op-ed, Jan. 9).

They cannot frame a decent, reasoned argument because they have neither the verbal skills nor a daily educational stimulus to do so.

I would suggest that he watch one hour of "Buckwild" followed by an hour of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" then conclude his seminar with a perusal of highlights from "Moonshiners."

Father Jenkins will then see that bluntness and coarseness have permeated all levels of American society. These elements have forever supplanted the civility he is seeking.

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Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Education • Military / Armed Forces • * Economics, Politics • Politics in General • * International News & Commentary • America/U.S.A.

1. Vatican Watcher wrote: I hope Father Jenkins is proposing actually attempting to persuade while being civil with his op-ed piece.  But I have a feeling all he is doing is justifying his existing stance of dialogue for dialogue’s sake and those who oppose dialogue (such as the Notre Dame 88) are the ones being uncivil. As for the letter actually quoted here at T19, the author comes across to me as just another person who wants to stereotype based on a few cable shows that the author finds distasteful. January 15, 2:00 pm | [comment link]

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