ABSTRACT
Deliberating free speech and a free press solely from speaking-centered perspectives not only trivializes listening but also emphasizes the individual over the community. Free speech is considered important principally because it protects the personal freedom of the individual speaker, which is of course essential to liberty and democracy. But what about listening? As the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled, democratic citizens need opportunities to speak and listen together in public debates and deliberation that actually contain plurality and diversity. From a public perspective, this means democratic citizens need freedom to listen to a free press that provides truthful and factual information, fairly presented, from a range of perspectives. From an individual perspective, this means exercising a commitment to truly listen, understanding one’s own limitations, and recognizing the complex difficulties of listening itself. In other words, the time for listening education as an adjunct of citizenship is long overdue. This does not mean tactical listening in order to win an argument but democratic listening that appreciates the plurality of perspectives needed in a robust democracy. Otherwise, our refusal to accept others as real persons becomes toxic – to community, to justice, and to a lived and livable democracy.
