It’s been quite a few years in the making; however, the art of being gracious appears to be a vanishing jewel. Civility is on life support nationally and last rites are being administered. Also known as politeness, courtesy, respect, consideration or just plain good manners, acts of civility are seldom on display anymore, especially from the under thirty pack. It is now admirable and “cool” to be crass, tactless and downright vulgar. Emily Post is turning over in her grave!
This pandemic can be attributed to many sources including the lack of parental influence, the electronic gadget age, mealy-mouthed school officials and unrestrained internet access to objectionable material. Also, the startling societal absence of consequences are for most distasteful, offensive behavior exhibited by an under educated gaggle of millennials addicted to pseudo-celebrities and their depraved behavior.
Nowhere is this dearth of respect and decorum more evident than in politics and those knuckleheads who demonstrate for or against a candidate—and I’m referring to both parties, Democrat and Republican. Being ill-mannered and vulgar is not a matter of free speech but a simple lack of civility. Of course sites like Twitter and Facebook facilitate the ease of spewing vile and vitriol anomalously.
You can be a 15-year-old punk kid sitting in your underwear munching on corn chips, living in mommy’s basement posting hate filled Tweets for all to see. It’s much tougher, little Bobby, to be so bold and brave face-to-face with a real person. Oh that’s right, one-on-one interaction is passé. I realize that I’m beating my head against the wall and a return to the “good ole’ days” is just a pipe dream.
A nasty by-product of this behavior is schoolyard bullying—the ultimate act of cowardice. Of course, bullying can be delivered from a computer in the confines of your bedroom. Ahoy teachers and parents, it’s a vital component of your duty and responsibility to teach these simple guidelines in the essential construction of a well-adjusted, considerate adult. In my humble opinion, a sizable percentage of you are failing miserably! Hey mom and dad, how about resurrecting this old ditty for starters, Respect your elders!
Anyway, here are a few quotes on the subject at hand.
Civility costs nothing and buys everything. Mary Wortley Montagu. Be civil to all, sociable to many, familiar with few, friend to one, enemy to none. Benjamin Franklin. When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency. Samuel Johnson. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment; it is the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos. George W. Bush. I believe that if we stop talking at one another, and start talking with one another, we can get a lot done. Barack Obama.
All of civility depends on being able to contain the rage of individuals. Joshua Lederberg. As citizens, we have to be more thoughtful and more educated and more informed. I turn on the TV and I see these grown people screaming at each other, and I think, well, if we don’t get our civility back, we’re in trouble. Emmylou Harris. Civility is perhaps a quaint notion, but civility in Parliament is something we should always strive to uphold. Jay Weatherilo. Aspire to decency.
Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if periodically you fail, as you surely will, adjust your lives, not the standards. Ted Koppel. We are losing sight of civility in government and politics. Debate and dialogue are taking a back seat to the politics of destruction and anger and control. Dogma has replaced thoughtful discussion between people of differing views. — James McGreevey.
