online arguments.
Today, many discussions take place in environments where people are encouraged to respond quickly rather than reflect carefully. A disagreement can become a contest in which the goal is to defeat the other person, not understand them.
Donahue’s approach offered a different possibility.
He did not promise that every conversation would lead to agreement. He did not pretend that difficult subjects could be solved with a single interview.
But he believed that listening mattered.
That belief is one of the most enduring parts of his legacy.
