The Lack of Civility

The pendulum has swung away from political correctness. At the outer edge PC seems pretty silly. We can't do anything at all that might somehow insult someone's delicate sensitivity somewhere. That can be pretty paralyzing when tough issues need to be discussed.

The pendulum has violently swung completely to the opposite direction. Many people are now just fine with spouting out any hateful thing at all. There are no limits. Any racist or misogynistic rant is supposed to be just fine.

Since when did we lose any sense of basic civility? Did everyone's mother's forget to instill the idea of manners? It's like listening to kids who's mouths need to be washed out with soap.

There is nothing wrong with disagreement. There is something wrong with being disagreeable. If you are spitting venom when you yell, odds are you lack a persuasive argument. Volume is not a substitute for facts. Mao stated that power flows from the barrel of a gun. If your argument relies on power alone, that's the sort of intellectual company you are keeping. Be honest with yourself.

I'm a big strong white male with a large ego. I could have gone through life quite successfully bullying people around. I'm glad I decided to reign that in and listened to other, sometimes softer voices. By doing so I was able to learn and grow. You can't grow if you believe you already know it all. Sometimes I've been convinced to change my opinion and have become richer for it.

Being civil is a sign of strength. It takes a lot of strength to hold one's tongue. Right now I see a lot of weak people pretending to be strong. They are strong in the way a mob is strong, violent, energetic, and mostly brainless. Like lemmings they sometimes all go over the cliff together.

All I ask is that folks remember the basic manners their mommas should have taught them.

-Sixbears