Civility

Today I am at the Values Voter Summit in Washington DC, a gathering of about 2000 emotionally-charged, politically pandering, conservatively “concerned” citizens. I am here as an employee of the Heritage Foundation, an organization I associate with because I believe they do a better (not perfect) job of being tempered and even-handed in their rhetoric than most other organizations that are even remotely concerned with social issues. (To give you a clue of how ironic it is that I work for a political organization, this is the first time I have actually heard Sean Hannity speak at all, let alone been in a live political audience.)

However, the language I am hearing from speakers and politicians is emotionally-charged, self-righteous, polarizing, and overly simplistic. Demonizing the evil “left”, mobilizing a room of conservative leaders toward the next election when we’re going to “take back the house, take back the senate, and send Barak Obama back to the private sector”.

In a sense, I understand that in a two party system, this is a somewhat inevitable method of mobilizing the masses. But this method is disrespectful, deceptive, and disingenuous. This kind of inflammatory rhetoric worries me. It grates against the inside of my soul. It is disrespectful at the least and inhumane at the most.

Perhaps it’s the short time I spent in the US Air Force, perhaps it’s from all the interactions I’ve had with those who struggle with same-sex attraction and have very different views than I on marriage, or the many good people I know who think my religious beliefs are crazy but are still willing to treat me with respect, that I feel this way. But I believe civility and respectful and considerate dialogue must be the cornerstone of all our human interactions, especially if we intend to have any kind of lasting impact on the world.

That means describing our commander-in-chief as a fool and a clown is never appropriate, no matter how different his political views and policies are from our own. Associating a political party with God’s will is also inappropriate. This is why I shudder when the word “activist” is used when I talk about my involvement in the marriage issue.

At the beginning of this blog, that I have no idea who will read, I just want to state as a disclaimer, that the answer to any problem, political or otherwise, is never the method of engagement that includes the kind of incivility that so characterizes politics in America today. Let’s pull together and commit to be civil in our interactions, level-headed in our arguments, clear and disciplined in our reasoning, and committed to dialogue and a safe place for all points of view, even the ones that don’t sit well with us.