Over the past few weeks, I’ve had occasion to watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. give testimony before Congress. Most recently, he was trying to explain why a hearing on censorship should not itself be subject to censorship.
That’s worth watching for the content alone. But in addition, it’s been so long since we’ve had a presidential candidate who could accurately be described as ‘presidential’ that it’s good to be reminded of what one looks and sounds like.
Although we disagree on some policies, I think he and I share one of our deepest beliefs: If we’re ever going to get anywhere worth going, we need to start having better conversations.
Towards that end, I tend to focus on things like making sure we agree on the meanings of the words we’re using, avoiding common logical fallacies, agreeing ahead of time on what kind of discussion (moral or cost-benefit) we’re going to have, and so on.
He tends to focus on things like mutual respect and freedom from censorship.
I want people to stop having the wrong conversations. He wants people to start having the right ones.
But we’re after the same thing—making public discussions more like conversations and less like sporting events.
So, given that he’s currently one of the most censored people in the world, how can we get people to listen to him defend the importance of speech that is both free and collaborative, even on topics that people are divided on?
A good ad can go a long way towards that. Do you remember the famous 1984 ad that Apple ran during Super Bowl XVIII? If you haven’t seen it, take a look now. (It’s hard to believe that it was made 40 years ago.)
What I’m imagining is a variation on this theme.
You start by seeing two groups instead of one, each facing away from the other, listening to two different demagogues rant on two giant screens about how the people facing the other way are ‘the biggest single threat to our way of life’ or something like that.
Both screens are plugged into a single outlet. You see a hand reaching towards the plugs and hear RFK Jr.’s voice saying, ‘This has to stop.’ The hand pulls out both plugs.
Cut back to the original view. The screens are blank and quiet. The people are looking around in a daze as if just awakened from a dream.
We hear RFK Jr. ‘s voice saying, ‘We have to start talking to each other as neighbors, treating each other as human beings, respecting each other as fellow Americans. We have to stop reflexively viewing each other as existential threats. We have to start talking to each other instead of about each other.’
And people start crossing the aisle warily at first, but shaking hands, introducing themselves, and easing into civil conversations with each other.
Because his voice is so distinctive, you wouldn’t even have to identify this as an ad for RFK Jr. I mean, except for all those laws… made by Congress… abridging freedom of speech.
