A Need for Civility

 

The Wallace Centers of Iowa

I don’t want to be writing of the attack on the Capitol for a second day in a row, but I can’t help it.  From when I learned about the breach, in the early afternoon yesterday, I turned on the TV and spent the rest of the day flipping between MSNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC.  I couldn’t stop watching it.

I watched it into the wee hours of the morning.  Just as about the joint session of Congress was supposed to reconvene after deliberating separately on the votes from the state of Pennsylvania.  I was just too tired to stay up any longer and it was pretty clear that there were to be no more objections to the votes of any other states.  The certification of the election Joe Biden and Kamala Harris was going to and did happen.

I got up this morning and attended an online meeting.  Just before getting to my to-do list of yesterday and today, I turned on the TV to just see what was going on.  I shouldn’t have done that.  I ended up watching hours of coverage again today.  It is unprecedented history in the making.  I had to keep watching it.  Even when I left the house to run a few errands, I listened to coverage on NPR in the car. 

There is an Op-Ed that will be in tomorrow’s, January 8, Wall Street Journal:  Donald Trump’s Final Days.  It was online today and when it hit, it was big news on the CNN and MSNBC.  The subtitle was direct and to the point:  “The best outcome would be for him to resign to spare the U.S. another impeachment fight.”

Two cabinet secretary’s, Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos, have resigned.  Six other staffers also have resigned.  Don Lemon, on CNN, just said, and I paraphrase, it was the worst act by any President by the worse President ever.  No surprise, Pelosi and Schumer called for the Pence and the Cabinet to invoke Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment of the US Constitution and initiate the process specified in the Amendment to remove the President from office.  If they didn’t do this, Pelosi said the House would have to consider impeachment. 

While I was running my errands today, I saw a lady wearing a MAGA hat.  I was thinking about saying something to her.  It would have probably been a snide comment.  But, I refrained from doing it.  I didn’t know this lady.  She is entitled to her view and opinion.  I am pretty certain she wasn’t amongst then insurrectionists that stormed the Capitol.  So, why was going to say anything especially something snide.

A fellow I worked with at Colgate, he posted a statement on Facebook, he was very articulate in expressing his support for Trump and the way he has been mistreated by the press and his political opposition for four plus years.  He laid out a case that was logical and made sense.  While I disagreed with large portions of it, I also know he and I could discuss or views without getting into an argument.  We might be passionate and excited, but we would discuss, ask questions, challenge, and parry with the goal of enhancing our understanding of each other’s perspective. 

Civility?

Civility comes from the word civis, which in Latin means "citizen". Merriam Webster defines civility as civilized conduct (especially: courtesy or politeness) or a polite act or expression. Historically, civility also meant training in the humanities. ~ Wikipedia

We need civility as a basis for understanding different perspectives and points of view.  Without civility and understanding, there is little chance of ever getting the consensus decisions needed to move our country forward.  Without this, we will be subjected to the wild swings in policy every time there is a change which party has the Presidency or control of the houses of Congress.

I know this asking a lot.