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Bringing Civility Back to Discourse
Have we lost the ability to have conversation that’s not hostile?
I’m a fan conversation. I love it. I want all in. I mean, let’s dig into the serious stuff. The hard stuff. The weird stuff. Forget the small talk.
There is a prevalent issue in doing this, though. Every day I see a woeful lack of civil discourse. People have become nasty. Some of the nastiness is so aggressive and in our faces that it’s hard to ignore.
Even more pervasive seems to be a low grade passive aggression that carries the same level of nastiness while allowing the attacker to bow out as though nothing has happened. No attack was made. Nothing to see here, folks.
These two levels of nastiness carry two very different threats to civil discourse. The first lacks decency and respect. The second lacks honesty.
It seems we are horribly out of practice in talking to each other from a place of mutual respect, despite difference of opinions. Perhaps we were never taught this. Our leaders have not proven to be shining examples.
Add to this the fact that we have a propensity to engage in discussion via the internet. You know, the place where know one…
