Enough Said What's Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics?

"'Free speech' always has been limited by obstacles: national, state, or local laws, organizational rules, social restrictions, incomplete transmission via technology, and the limits of language itself. Now, with the advent of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, and YouTube, a new era has emerged, and free speech has exploded. Never before have we enjoyed such free and diverse access to information, or more freedom to debate issues. But with such openness of language and opinion, we still have a generally poor understanding of the most important issues that we face today. Why? In Enough Said, New York Times CEO Mark Thompson argues that there is a widening gap between political power and the public, because public language is being misused or misunderstood. Drawing from classical rhetoric as well as contemporary political doublespeak, Thompson outlines the dangers of speech without accountability, while identifying positive trends in modern speech and exploring our new age of public engagement."--