An irony of the Information Age is that few people talk anymore. We’re bombarded by emails and telephone pollsters. On TV and radio, pundits stake out positions based on their own set of facts. But is anyone really talking?

The Iraq War has become so divisive that conversation has given way to hardened positions, and each side claims they best support the troops.

We met with service men and women from the Eastern Panhandle and were blown away by their willingness to share. We learned from them that truth is more than political positions. These nine locals have a far greater grasp of the nuances of foreign policy than the pundits. In an age in which a service man or woman’s every utterance could be appropriated by political combatants, it was courageous of them just to talk.

At home in Shepherdstown, there’s been a troubling absence of conversation. At the police department, an officer is suspended and demoted without losing status or pay, and no one will talk about it. Now people are talking and they deserve our thanks. There is a tradition of silence on public matters in small towns. Perhaps it’s out of respect for privacy. Still, at what point does silence become complicity?

Contrast this with the public way the Contemporary American Theater Festival has dealt with controversy surrounding the production of My Name is Rachel Corrie. Rather than push discord under the rug, they are dealing with it openly through educational programs and moderated forums, and by encouraging dialogue between trustees and the public.

Dr. Stanley Marinoff, a CATF trustee, sums it up well. Controversy, he says, creates an opening for conversation.