To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well.    

 John Marshall

I joined Facebook not to find lost school mates or old chums, but because I feel so strongly that my current government is not listening and we have entered an era of political communication breakdown between the elected and the electorate.  In doing so I broke a personal vow to abstain from one more mode of interference to my solitude.  So under protest I signed to protest and join the thousands raising our collective voices with the hope that it will be heard.

I did connect with an old friend and we found that not much has changed over the years; we're both still tilting at windmills.  He was, and still is, a champion of free speech.  He can be rather aggressive in his championship, but, he is after all an American.

I tend to have a slightly different perspective, possibly as a result of my Canadianess.  While I agree fervently with the principle of free speech, I equally hold that hearing what is said must be a component of that freedom.  To do anything less is a failure to communicate and ironically leads to dispute where there is none.

My mother tells the story of my Scottish grandfather, a proud union man, and an English great uncle, an equally proud railway man.  After family dinners the two would get into heated discussions about the politics of the day.  Sitting between them was another uncle who, with great delight, would egg the two of them on by saying "did you hear what he just said!"  It was obvious to my mother that neither man did hear, possibly because they were both deaf in one ear but more likely because they were talking over one another, since she, who was listening, discovered the two men were actually saying the same thing!

My former minister used the phrase "between the speaking and the hearing" to begin the service.  I looked forward to her saying those words for it reminded me that is where real communication lies:  In that brief moment in time when the words of the speaker are received and interpreted.  It requires a moment of silence, a suspension of preconceptions and the freedom of thought.

In the cacophonic world of a Communication age, perhaps what is needed most are champions for freedom of thought.  Encouragement to hear what is being said, to think about what the words truly mean, to ask when in doubt, and then to speak.