What Happened To Civility?

Racial epithets. Homophobic slurs. Verbal abuse on an unconscionable scale. In the halls of our nation's Capitol building, no less! And all because a committed and forward-thinking group of elected officials were trying to accomplish something no one else has been able to accomplish - provide affordable healthcare coverage to every American citizen. Gosh, what a brazen, reckless and ill-conceived thing to do! I mean, just imagine, the wealthiest nation on the planet, inhabited by some of the most intelligent people on the planet, might once and for all ensure that everyone, including and especially the poorest among us, the most infirm among us, the most destitute and desperate among us, will receive the medical treatment they need - when they need it. Won't work. Can't work. We'll go broke. At least that's what Rush and his merry band of lunatics have been screaming. And there was my fellow Buckeye, the poster child for Coppertone, John Boehnert, doing everything in his power to ensure that not a single Republican support the bill-of-ages. He, of the gutless GOP, which hasn't managed to move the meter one iota on national healthcare since Nixon took office!


So, people, this is what we've come to? Slinging the n-word at the venerable John Lewis who stood arm-in-arm with MLK, Jr. over four decades ago? Calling eight-term Massachusetts congressman, Barney Frank, the homophobic f-word simply because he supports legislation that requires every American to have healthcare coverage? Once again, my fellow Americans - my neighbors - through ignorance and a myopic willingness to be led down an extremist path, you have managed to embarass me and make me fear for a future devoid of common civility, rational discourse and simple respect for one another. Call it the next chapter in the ongoing dumbing down and polarization of America.

In my very first blog, I lamented the callous disregard and disrespect shown me by a self-absorbed luxury SUV driver who cut me off in traffic while yapping on his cell phone, only to then blare his horn at me as if I was the offender. People, what happened to civility? Regardless of how we feel about what is going on in Washington, and regardless of whether we believe freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever we want, wherever and whenever we want and to whom we want to say it, it doesn't make it right when civility and common decency become casualties in the process! Merriam-Webster Online (that's a dictionary for you language-challenged readers) defines civility - a noun, of which the root word is civil, an adjective dating to the 14th century derived from the Latin civilis - as, a) civilized conduct, especially: Courtesy and Politeness, and b) a polite act or expression. Synonyms for civil are polite, courteous, gallant and even chivalrous. I'm sure you're familiar with the word polite. You know, like "if you can't be pleasant, at least be polite."

Now, I'm not suggesting that we get all huggy-kissy with one another (although a little more of that would go a long way indeed!) What I am suggesting is that every single one of us take a step back - if not two - and consider how our approach to everything from national healthcare to abortion to offshore drilling to Wall Street to red light cameras on Main Street to global warming to who goes first at a four-way stop, and every other issue that causes people to take sides, is polarizing us and making us distrustful and fearful of each other, even our friends and families. Civility. Respect. They're not just words, but ideals, and eminently worthy of aspiring to if we consider ourselves even remotely enlightened. If each of us would make it his or her priority to practice civility and respect on a daily basis, rather than honing our national narcissism, we would be amazed by what we might accomplish together. At worst, the tone of the rhetoric would be taken down a few notches and we might actually be able to have a conversation. Now, it seems all we can do is argue, threaten and browbeat.

Perhaps we should all take a lesson from that professional golfer - no, not that one - who in the midst of a playoff recently that could have resulted in his first PGA Tour victory, called a two-stroke penalty on himself for a rule violation that no one else would likely have noticed, due to his awkward and somewhat hidden stance in a hazard. His name is Brian Davis and his action not only cost him the victory, it cost him $415,000 - the difference between first and second place prize money. He proved that in golf, honesty is more important than victory, and that's a lesson we can all apply to life. If Brian Davis lacked respect for the game, his opponents the PGA and the fans, do you think he would have taken such action? If he was not a person who puts a priority on civility and honesty and integrity, he could very well have won that tournament, along with the future exemptions, accolades, and endorsements that might have followed. Yes, and our society's collective conscience would have taken another blow in the process. Brian Davis gives me hope; hope that more and more of my fellow citizens will discover their inner Brian Davises and begin to treat one another with respect and civility.

Perhaps then our national arguments will become national conversations. I can only hope. Until next blog, I'm . . .

. . .Wishin' I Was Fishin'