Chapter 12

After going through each chapter in the course textbook, I continued to notice a pattern. This pattern is that each chapter taught me something about a part of the world that I was not aware of. Of course, they pertained to ethics, but basic communication understanding is vital towards a functional society. This isn’t always perfect, but I have learned that an understanding of ethical communication is something that varies across cultures and levels of literacy. “Dialogue requires that one know the ground from which one speaks, meet the Other with a willingness to learn, and learn about the ground from which the Other’s discourse emerges (223).” This is an incredible way of thinking about the difference amongst us all. Not everyone has the same level of education and not everyone has the same cultural background. Understanding that not having every single person on the same page is not necessarily a bad thing. It will cause problems, but everyone involved needs to be aware that other people might not have the same point-of-view as them. This, of course, doesn’t mean we have to agree with every single point-of-view, but we need to understand that there are different sides, and we need to protect our side while including the Other’s opinions.

When I think about this notion of ethics more, I realize that I have not utilized it very well in my life. I am a very stubborn person, and I will always stick to my ideas. What I think is good and right about the world might differ from another person. For example, a few older members of my family are very old-fashioned. We do not even slightly agree on issues like marriage equality, and woman’s rights. My opinions of these are very close to my heart, but some of my family does not agree. Yes, this makes me angry, but I need to understand where they are coming from. They are coming from different generations, different education levels, and different upbringings. While I do not agree with them, I need to realize that we have different points-of-view. In keeping with ethics in literacy and difference, I now know that I need to observe the outside factors that make them think a certain way. They themselves might not see why there are opinions different from theirs, but by being the mediator, I hope that I can save the good that is the notion of acknowledging the difference within communication and beyond.