Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and the Art of Conversation

The 19th-century doctor and poet offered a solution for a divided society

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) was a physician and poet who was considered by many of his peers to be among the best writers of his day. Kean Collection/Getty Images

The word “conversation” is on a lot of lips today. In many cases, though—as when one is invited to “have a conversation” about some facet of identity politics—the underlying meaning is more along the lines of, “Listen, and then accept our radical narrative without question.”

Far from representing an exchange of ideas, such doublespeak has contributed to communication breakdown.