civility
[si-vil-i-tee]
- courtesy; politeness.
- a polite action or expression: an exchange of civilities.
- Archaic. civilization; culture; good breeding.
Much lip service is paid to the notion of civility, particularly in political discourse. Commentators on {almost} all points of the political spectrum decry the lack of civility, then call for the other side to go first.
Robert De Niro got a standing ovation at the Tony awards last Sunday night for his speech (not suitable for work) which basically consisted of "[deleted] Trump." Since then, much discussion on Twitter has resolved around what De Niro said, not why he said it. De Niro has been both criticized and praised for what he said but none of those comments addressed whether Trump should be [deleted] or not and why or why not.
And that, my friends, is why extremes of uncivility are generally worthless. The people you are attacking with your uncivility will deflect serious criticism of their policies, positions, actions, etc. by ranting about the words you use. They will use those words to justify not responding to your serious arguments or to the arguments of people who agree with you.
There are two counter arguments which apply in this current situation. There is a cathartic effect of saying, "[deleted] Trump" or standing and cheering when someone else says it. And, second, there is no point being civil with people who have demonstrated they are not going to change no matter what you say or how you say it.
As for me, I'm willing to go first and start out civil but I can fall off that wagon very, very easily.
Comments are welcome but remember, be civil.
