“Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” The Era of Tactlessness in our political media.

I ran across a wonderful quote: “Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” This quote is attributed variously to Howard W. Newton and also to Isacc Newton.

Regardless of who said it, the quote encapsulates so much about what is wrong with our political discourse today. Aren’t you sick to death of hearing radio and TV personalities issue outrageous thoughtless insults?

We’re in the age of tactlessness. We can’t seem to disagree responsibly - we have to insult each other’s intelligence, or patriotism, or even sometimes suggest that our opponents are unworthy to live. We can’t disagree about important things without making enemies in the process.

Our radio and TV channels seem to be flooded with rude and insulting political commentary. (see examples in the links below). I’ve committed my share of tactless commentary as well, sprinkled throughout umpteen articles, however when I do it, it’s ok, because I’m right! [hehe].

But seriously, I hope we can become more aware of media tactlessness when we hear it or see it, and be less tolerant of it.

I sometimes protest against the tactlessness and hatefulness in our political media. Here are a few of my postings:

1. Eliminationist Rhetoric from Republican Media Figures Must Stop
2. QUIZ - Ann Coulter verses Adolph Hitler - Which one said it?
3. James Carville makes a DailyKOS diarist ill, and I tend to agree
4. Wartime on the Factor: Phil Donahue makes Bill O’Reilly look foolish - Bill gets semi-violent but can’t rattle Phil
5. OUCH! JC Corcoran should apologize for joking about the mass killing of religious conservatives