During the presidential campaign of 2008, I sat down to watch the Saddleback Church Civil Forum. The main attraction that night was to watch Senators Barack Obama & John McCain speak on the same stage for the first time. The nation was abuzz! Yet, when Pastor Rick Warren came on stage to kick things off that night… he made a comment that a lot of people didn’t catch. Most Americans, including the press, was focused on his, “cone of silence’ comment. Yet the comment that stood out the most, for me, was this: “Now in America we gotta learn to disagree without demonizing each other. We need to restore civility in our civil discourse”
When I heard this, I just shook my head. Why?
There has NEVER been civility in the American political civil discourse. There has always been the art of political demonization within the American political spectrum.
Those who engage in politics will take on the nature of politics, which is to dominate and to be the victor. Politics is a fight. It has been said that politics is a blood sport and there is no other definition that is more adequate. The fight is not with pillows or feathers but with verbal clinched fists and vocal baseball bats. Politics is about winning not about finding common ground or civility. Any politician who has a soft tone and a gentle demeanor will become road kill on Pennsylvania Ave.
Hasn’t it always been this way?
Thomas Jefferson encouraged his friend James Madison to publicly and politically attack Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson said, “for god’s sake, my dear Sir, take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him to pieces [sic] in the face of the public” This is the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence!!! Jefferson also used pamphleteer James Callender to politically assault Alexander Hamilton to expose an affair he had with a married woman. Then Mr. Callender switched political teams and then began to attack Thomas Jefferson. His most famous attack was to expose an incident where Jefferson allegedly fathered a child with a young black slave girl named Sally Hemings who was owned by Jefferson.
This is just one example of the political fighting that has raged through the history of our great nation. Every president, every senator, every representative and every political appointee from the birth of America until now has participated in the brutal world of politics.
The Civil War is another example of the vicious nature of politics. The political argument over states rights versus federal rights concerning slavery boiled over from the halls of congress to the green fields of America. In the end, the north and the federal government won the political dispute.
Nowadays we see the likes of Pastor Rick Warren, Senator Harry Reid, President Barack Obama saying that we need a restoring of “civility in our civil discourse.”. How can we have a restoring when it was never there to begin with! Demonizing of the political rival is par for the course.
If civility is put into politics it would be the first time ever in American history, yet to do so is impossible. Why? The nature of politics and the nature of mankind will not allow it. Remember, the core of politics is to win, it is to be victor… it is to rule. Politics is not civil… it is rude and pushy.
We as Americans, people who converse about politics and those who are political need to realize that true politics are cruel. When we realize this we can adequately address the issues, fight it out and then put into practice those things which have won the day. Those who have lost can lick their wounds and seek victory in the years ahead.
So if you are political, don’t be ashamed of being brash or vocal. For those of you who are passionate about your political ideals… be opinionated, be dogmatic. Fight it out! Speak up! Because in so doing, you are being truly political.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
To me the big question is how do we “fight it out”? what are the rules of the fight? what would be considered unfair or a violation of the rules?
i for one wish to fight a fair fight for the sake of the common good. to use the war analogy, i would not condone the involvement of soldiers families, their wives and children, to be embroiled in the slaughter of war.
to escalate the dynamics of political discourse into the volley lead and death that is war is a dangerous thing. to make such a statement would justify violence in the heart of our capitals, our city halls and our homes.
The nature of civilization and society is to enable many peoples to live together in peace, without violence allowing them security and prosperity among other things.
I would argue that it is necessary for a society to aspire toward civility and peaceful means, while standing at the ready to defend against violent actions by an enemy, wether that enemy be foreign or domestic.
I would argue that men and women in leadership should themselves aspire towards civility, that their actions and means of governance would stand as a shining example to the people they lead.
That there used to be fist fights and drunkenness on the floor of the senate does not justify the need for fist fights and drunkenness today.
Violence is a very real thing. And I believe most people would rather live without violence and slander and vicious rhetoric. We as leaders should stand at the ready to engage violent attacks when necessary, but choose civility whenever possible. We should learn and choose not to escalate but extinguish and violent situations whether physical or rhetorical that we may face.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
To me the big question is how do we “fight it out”? what are the rules of the fight? what would be considered unfair or a violation of the rules?
i for one wish to fight a fair fight for the sake of the common good. to use the war analogy, i would not condone the involvement of soldiers families, their wives and children, to be embroiled in the slaughter of war.
to escalate the dynamics of political discourse into the volley lead and death that is war is a dangerous thing. to make such a statement would justify violence in the heart of our capitals, our city halls and our homes.
The nature of civilization and society is to enable many peoples to live together in peace, without violence allowing them security and prosperity among other things.
I would argue that it is necessary for a society to aspire toward civility and peaceful means, while standing at the ready to defend against violent actions by an enemy, wether that enemy be foreign or domestic.
I would argue that men and women in leadership should themselves aspire towards civility, that their actions and means of governance would stand as a shining example to the people they lead.
That there used to be fist fights and drunkenness on the floor of the senate does not justify the need for fist fights and drunkenness today.
Violence is a very real thing. And I believe most people would rather live without violence and slander and vicious rhetoric. We as leaders should stand at the ready to engage violent attacks when necessary, but choose civility whenever possible. We should learn and choose not to escalate but extinguish any violent situations, whether physical or rhetorical, that we may face.
December 8th, 2009 at 11:50 am
There are no set rules except those that are written in the Constitution and the Civil Laws of the land. For example… you can’t stuff the Ballot Boxes, but you can demonize your opponent. You can’t bribe, but you can leak harmful information concerning the dalliances of a political opponent.. Politics is a naturally dirty game that cannot be reformed due to human nature.
I believe you missed my point on the “war analogy”. It was just an expression to show how brutal the world of politics is. I am not condoning a political war of arms at all within America. Yet we do have a verbal war of ideals that is being waged within Washington, and across the nation, for the soul of the country.
American politicians can aspire towards civility all they want but it is just a facade. The nature of politics, especially American politics, has no civility in it. No matter how much a Senator will say, “My friend from the State of…” or “The Gentleman from the State of…” it does not change the fact that the “friend” or “Gentleman” is a bitter political foe and friendship and cordialness is a simple façade. Civility in Politics is a wonderful goal to shoot for but it cannot be injected into the tough hide of politics.
Civility in Politics as well as in daily social life is against the natural man. There is no germ of civility within the heart of the Natural man. It is also a rarity to see it practiced within the natural world. Human nature will not allow politics to become civil, cordial or kind… human nature wants power, victory, and all the glory for itself. Human nature wants its own ideas to rule…
Therefore, in order to have any type of victory in the political world… you must be just as sharp as the other man. If you don’t, you will loose and be worthless in the political world. It is a verbal fight of ideas and to the victor goes the spoil.