"Fighting for Our Lives" offers in-depth insight into the current state of public dialogue. Deborah Tannen describes how our public interactions have become increasingly “warlike,” in the way we discuss ideas, the way we cover the news, and the way we resolve disputes. He notes that an adversarial approach has become the standard both in public dialogue and in “almost everything we need to accomplish.” While he admits that “conflict and opposition are as necessary as cooperation and agreement,” he believes the balance has shifted in recent years. A “culture of discussion” has pervaded American culture, and the consequences are real. This problem impacts my life in many different ways. First, it makes me pay more attention to my personal interactions. How can I be part of this problem? How much of what Dr. Tannen describes applies to the way I approach dialogue, the way I solve problems, or the way I consume news? It will definitely make me an even better listener. By knowing that assumptions are part of any given dialogue, I will be more attuned to the assumptions underlying any given topic. I am also reminded to pay attention to metaphors. What metaphors are at play? Keeping in mind that “the terms in which we talk about something shape how we think about it,” I am invited to identify the metaphors that operate within each discussion and, perhaps most importantly, to choose my words wisely. In the public arena (there's a "gladiator" metaphor), we can see the issue play out in politics and religion. The problem has become so big in Washington that President Obama found it necessary to address it in his recent State of the Union address: "But what frustrates the American people is a... middle of paper..." .n American Virtue ! History shows us what happens "when a society becomes so self-centered that it assumes that (its) point of view must be the ONLY correct point of view." And like much of history, the tales are cautionary its extreme, "self-centered" point of view justifies a whole host of human atrocities. Manifest Destiny (injustices against Native Americans) was fueled by exactly that kind of "point of view". from Christians to non-believers, which in the Middle Ages resulted in the deaths of millions of people, played its part in two world wars and the greatest genocides of human existence can be a very destructive force with a society as powerful and influential as ours , it can be catastrophic. Americans beware! (Or should I say: watch out Americans?)