Whither collegiality?
The quotable, or at least memorable, Rodney King said it well: “Can’t we all just get along?”
Simplistic? Naive? Yes, and yes. But in every simplistic utterance there is a grain of gravitas, a scintilla of sense. There was a time when we collectively recognized the hyperbolic assault against a referendum, the ad hominem attack on a public official, and were at least embarrassed by the ruckus. Today we seem to enjoy the blur between civic engagement and entertainment.
We need more of that old-time taste and restraint in our public discourse. We need to call out the Glenn Becks, Rush Limbaughs and Keith Olbermanns, those on both sides of the political fence whose vitriolic vehemence, and in-your-face expostulation poisons true dialogue. We need to return to some sort of civility.
Call it simple good manners. When a fellow can announce in the well of the U.S. Congress that our president is a liar, and get away with little more than a slap on the wrist, we’ve lost something. When the same individual sees his campaign coffers fill to overflow in an affirming response the following day, our once-cordial system of give and take is Missing In Action. When a prominent left-wing TV personality assaults the listener, his staccato delivery mindful of a runaway beer truck, a reasonable viewer might ask who he’s trying to convince; his audience or himself?
An old, and quite appropriate maxim comes to mind: “Emotion high; intelligence low.” Watching those TV shouting heads, it certainly seems to be true; their product is more heat than light.
Recently several members of our Congress elected themselves into retirement. Similar explanations were offered. The once collegial, engaging, productive atmosphere of political give-and-take has vanished, replaced by a corrosive, virulent form of rigid, ideologically driven attack mentality that serves no one.
The atmosphere has become toxic, and those good people, a few from both sides of the aisle, are calling it quits. That’s a shame, but who can blame them?
We’ve been a centrist society since our founding, ever wary of excursions too far removed from that center. It’s almost as if this moderate middle is now mute, sidelined and bemused by a kind of freak show at the margins lacking only the popcorn and barkers at the turnstile. If it were not so dad-blamed corrosive it’d be amusing.
We have no need for a “Pollyanna” mentality, either; our nation’s current opportunities are manifold, and no amount of optimistic dismissal or denial will help. We have real problems, which is why, more than ever, we need the engaging power of the two-party system that used to serve us so well. Ironically, what we don’t need is a concerted, automatic agreement on any issue big or small, but a return to the considerate, contemplative atmosphere that is characterized by respect for other views, and the possibility of learning something from exposure to a contrary belief. If nothing else, we can always agree to disagree.
But let’s make 2010 a year in which we, the constituents, demand more civility of our leadership.
