Tannen`s Assertion

Tannen`s Assertion

Deborah Tannen (1998 ) in her essay is expressing her doubts about the usefulness of the argumentative approach favored in America . In her view , the ritual nature of much of the opposition that pervades our public dialogue ' can be disruptive , turning any public dialogue into a vehement crash instead of search for compromise and conciliation

Indeed , a simple search through mass media returns a host of materials that speak of public debates in terms of battles ' and duels Thus , Peter Slevin (2006 ) in the same news in which Mrs . Tannen so

br disparagingly talked about the trend to fight , mentioning a battle intensifying across the nation over how students are taught about the origins of life . The Atlantic Online carries a feature about battle over the bilingual education at www .theatlantic .com /unbound /flashbks /bilingual .htm . speaking of duels Denver Post uses the word to describe the public controversy over the destiny of the teacher who compared George Bush to Adolf Hilter in one of his classroom speeches (Sanchez , Nicholson , 2005 . These are certainly no joking matters , but it appears as if the media themselves are fuelling the fire , trying to ignite the public opinion even further It may be true that fights ' of all kinds make a more exciting story to the public than s of various conciliatory procedures However , Tannen may have a point when she insists that such one-sidedness in exposure creates an ineffective approach to problems

The same can be applied to talk shows on TV and perhaps even radio debates . The most notorious example is Jerry Springer Show where guests whether real or fake , are instigated into heated debate that often ends with violence . Fights , often quite literal in this case , serve distinctly the purpose of amusing the audience . The trend is the same as mentioned in Tannen 's article - confronting individuals head-on to solve their problems in relationships in the form of an open conflict instead of pacification and counselling

Thus , Deborah Tannen has effectively spotted a pervasive trend in modern media . This tendency to overstate the conflict and downplay consensus contributes to the public 's inclination to solve matters through heated debates in which two sides attack each other liker boxers

Review of the Argument

In my belief , the thesis in the first paragraph can be strengthened Thus , one can connect it more effectively with mass media as cause of the tendency to attack each other in arguments . The range of examples can be broader . Accidentally , most of my examples focus on schools . This is a pure accident , but perhaps adding examples on other s can indicate the trend more clearly

Finally , the example of Jerry Springer 's show in the last paragraph can also be complemented with another example from radio /TV shows . One can use a more recent example or one that relates to the political or social sphere where people really debate on al issues

References

Sanchez , S Nicholson , K (2006 , March 16 . Bennish to teach again Punishment not revealed...