`` Death Of Discourse `` By Ronald K. L. Collins And David...

Two law professors, Ronald K. L. Collins and David M. Skover, in their novel, Death of Discourse illustrate the near tyrannical pleasure that Americans live under and the effects of this bliss in dulling the intellectual values of communication. Collins and Skover’s purpose is to enlighten the audience of how America’s glorified first amendment is warped into a means of blinding the public of society’s malfeasance. The two take on an edifying and forthright tone in order to allow the readers to gain clarity on how the media is warping american society; to show americans just exactly how the first amendment is misused. Collins and Skover starts the piece by defining discourse and relating it back to the works of Aristotle, a greater allusion to the systems of communications in the past, as well as they describe America’s current interpretation of discourse through it’s personal interpretation of free speech. The authors state, â€Å"To communicate with uninhibited liberty, to talk in the vernacular of the popular culture, to express that culture’s tastes, is the way of free speech in America.†(1) In painting this picture of a typical american’s use of free speech, the authors go against their previous depiction of Aristotle’s beliefs, which were the use of expression for some greater means or establishment of character. Having these two contrasting ideals defined supports their ideal of america’s misuse of their First Amendment. Effectively, by providing the allusion to Greek