Are our daily discussions any better than the presidential debate?

There has been a lot of noise about the recent debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The discussion was perfectly described in just three words by the French newspaper, Libération as “Chaotic, childish, gruelling". Whilst I wouldn’t defend the shambolic debate for a second, I am a little surprised that the global media is suggesting that the debate shamed America. Are the rest of us really any better? 

Whenever Donald Trump is involved, and I wish him a quick recovery from the horrors of COVID-19, then the gut reaction from most people is yes. He is the world’s favourite pantomime villain, and he lives up to that role. The French newspaper, Le Monde, described his behaviour perfectly by saying that he sought to "push his opponent off his hinges" with constant interruptions and by mocking his answers. Whilst others may lack the loud, brash and boorish manner of Mr Trump, isn’t this a very common tactic in the modern world?

In the global world of politics, then it is a long time since fact and honest discussion were the guiding principles. Throughout my adult life, politicians have been evading questions, employing spin doctors to help present things in a misleading but favourable light and taking full advantage of “lies, damned lies and statistics”. More recently, it is well acknowledged that debates are no longer based on fact and logical argument, and that they are now really led by slogan and emotion. As a result, the 2016 Oxford English Word of the Year was post-truth, the definition of which is:

“relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”

It’s easy to point the finger of blame at an exaggerated caricature like Donald Trump, or more widely at our out-of-touch politicians, fuelled by the drift towards infotainment in the media. But is it just them who show these failings? What about us in our daily discussions?

• Do we genuinely strive to listen to others and truly learn from their ideas and opinions, or are we really more interested in getting our own viewpoint across?
• Do we keep our focus and try to understand why others have a different point of view, or do we just interrupt or switch off as soon as we hear something we disagree with?
• Do we ask questions to gain a full understanding of what the other party is saying and thinking, or do we just make assumptions to fill gaps as we half-listen and multi-task?
• Do we use the unadulterated truth as we to try convince others, or do we massage the truth to influence their perspectives or to enhance their impression of us?
• Do we seek to win arguments with the power of our thoughts and ideas and the intelligence of our narrative, or do we just decide to criticise and minimise the argument of the other side with cheap put-downs?

Rather than conclude that the debate is a representation of the decline of America and give ourselves a feeling of superiority, we should maybe turn the spotlight on ourselves and admit which of these behaviours we also display in our daily discussions.

Of all the reflections I have read in the aftermath of the debate, the most interesting to me was the first line of a BBC article, which starts with a brief reflection on the past:

“When the first televised debates were held in 1960, the world watched two young candidates, John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon, respectfully engage in an intelligent and elevated discussion.”

Isn’t it time to get back to these intelligent and elevated discussions in all aspects of life, from the highest political stage to our daily conversations in the real world or on social media? By doing this, we get the chance to learn from the intelligent thoughts and insights of the wonderfully diverse world around us, we combine our powers to achieve more than we can on our own, and perhaps most importantly, we bring out the best in each other rather than the absolute worst. It is time for us to embrace #TheArtofDiscussion once again.

James Wyatt, Director of Finance at The Francis Crick Institute, and a passionate advocate of the high-quality discussions that can make the world a better place.