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I’ve been thoroughly amused and intrigued by several aspects of the recent discussion about whether the press release format is a major waste that should be dispatched quickly and mercifully. It’s laid bare several common fallacies.

One such fallacy is the idea that debate dies.

It’s true that within the context of a defined organization (such as a club or company), a deliberative body (such as a legislature or peer review panel), or a particular forum (such as an e-mail discussion group), debate can have a defined beginning and end.

However, in the public conversation – and especially on the internet, within a loosely defined community, or between communities – this concept has no meaning. For good reason…

ISSUES, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND COMMUNITIES EVOLVE

Every idea has its time – indeed, every idea generally has multiple occasions on which it becomes especially relevant or valuable to various communities or situations.

For instance, groups of people periodically rediscover and vigorously debate the concept of functional, beneficial self-government. Or equal rights for women or various minority populations. Or reproductive choice. Or whether mental and physical abuse is ever acceptable within an interrogation. Or national healthcare.

The cyclical nature of debate applies to small issues as well as large.

Case in point: Some PR professionals have lately criticized me for reviving a debate they consider to be “dead.”

For instance, see Press Releases are Dead Tired – And So is the Debate Over Them. I respect Gary Goldhammer, and I’m not troubled that he’s bored by discussion of options to get rid of press releases. There are plenty of things he talks about that don’t grab my interest, either.

That said, claiming that an issue should be considered closed simply because it’s been discussed before and no change resulted makes no sense to me.

Similarly, in a comment to this article, BL Ochman (whom I also respect) wrote: “Amy: I’ve yet to see you come up with an alternative that I – and others since – proposed years ago. You’re just kvetching.”

Per Dictionary.com:
kvetch: To complain persistently and whiningly.

1. A chronic, whining complainer.
2. A nagging complaint: “a rambling kvetch against the system� (Leonard Ross).

…Again, the implication is that because one community (PR professionals) discussed this issue in the past and no change resulted, there’s no reason to discuss it again. Furthermore, any solutions which were discussed previously but were not acted upon are now inherently irrelevent or invalid.

I can understand why people who have participated in a debate previously might decline to revisit it. However, their disinterest or intertia should not limit further debate by other parties – especially as as circumstances change.

HAVE COURAGE TO SPEAK UP

There are always possibilities and new realities. Things change, and people like to talk about changes. If you feel that you’d like to say something about an issue – any issue – then you should exercise your right to speak up. your opinion and perspective does count.

You might face considerable resistance, but that’s OK. Don’t let resistance discourage you. Just take it as a sign that you’ve touched a nerve. Keep in mind something that one of my favorite authors, Paul Graham, said in Hackers and Painters:

“The statements that make people mad are the ones they worry might be believed. I suspect the statements that make people maddest are those they worry might be true.�

IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU SAY, BUT WHERE YOU SAY IT

It you’re reopening debate or discussion, it’s probably best to start in your home turf: your own weblog or other personal corner of the public conversation. Avoid launching this discussion from within an existing forum or community which has already declared your issue “dead.”

This strategy makes it more likely that your renewed discussion will attract new voices and perspectives. This might cast it in an entirely new light, revealing new possibilities and implications. Also, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that you have powerful allies.

It’s possible that the time for your idea may have come. Your voice may be what’s needed right now in order to make important or necessary changes happen. That might be worth facing resistance.

The public conversation is no place for the faint of heart.