I was thinking about…

How to Revive Civility in Political Discourse

by Andy Lee

Okay, let’s all be honest with ourselves for a second here – the level of political discourse in this country has become an absolute dumpster fire lately. We’ve devolved into this nasty cycle of treating anyone who doesn’t share our exact beliefs and ideologies like complete enemies rather than fellow Americans.

What happened to being able to respectfully disagree on issues and hash out our contrasting perspectives through substantive, nuanced debate? When did it become acceptable to immediately discount others’ viewpoints through personal attacks, partisan grandstanding, and zero-sum mudslinging?

At this rate, we’re headed down an incredibly toxic path that’s only going to keep driving divisive wedges between citizens deeper and deeper. We’re losing any sense of being the “United” States entirely because political tribalism has become prioritized over civic duty and ethical governance.

And let’s be clear – I’m not saying this as some holier-than-thou enlightened centrist preaching for everybody to just compromise principles until we’re all a bunch of lukewarm moderates afraid to take any stands. My beliefs are just as passionate as anyone else’s.

But what I am saying is that we’ve got to find a way to reintroduce some sense of respect and human dignity back into how we discuss sensitive political issues that impact all our lives so profoundly. There’s got to be a path where we can still vehemently disagree at times but do so through substantive debate focused on policies and philosophies rather than cheap personality smears.

Because at the end of the day, despite our often vastly divergent backgrounds and personal ideologies, we’re all still Americans who presumably want the best for the country we’re blessed to call home. We’re all just imperfect human beings doing our best to advocate for the vision of society we think will create the most peace, prosperity and human flourishing too.

So even when we can’t seem to find common ground on fundamental issues, shouldn’t we at least be able to extend some basic human civility and good-faith recognition that we’re all just advocating for what we’ve been led to believe is the best path forward for our nation? And if we took that initial posture of courteous curiosity from the outset, who knows what creative solutions embracing all perspectives might emerge too!

But we’ll never get there if we stay ingrained in this perpetual cycle of partisan tribalism, where the mere act of disagreeing with someone has become grounds for portraying them as an outright moral leper to be expunged from society. If we don’t rediscover how to criticize ideas and policy positions without dehumanizing entire factions of Americans over disagreements, we’re just going to keep calcifying further apart.

So I’m just saying, as voters and citizens in this wild experiment of self-governance, we owe it to ourselves and future generations to be perpetual guardians of civic health too. And clearly, we can’t allow political discourse to keep devolving into juvenile insult-slinging contests between partisan gladiators battling for cultural supremacy at all costs either.

Somewhere between those two extremes must exist a ripe middle ground where passionate patriots of all ideological stripes can still gather to collaboratively advance visions for America’s brightest future through robust, substantive, compassionate debate. Not by demonizing anyone who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with us, but by respecting our fellow citizens’ rights to pursue happiness through their own philosophical lenses too.

After all, isn’t that the entire premise behind this bold democratic experiment we’re all beneficiaries of? That we can respectfully discuss our differences, collaboratively chisel away at injustices, and ultimately self-govern as an autonomous people united by civil virtues of goodwill toward all perspectives? Even when those perspectives happen to disagree with our own sometimes too?

So, let’s not give up on revitalizing civic responsibilities like substantive political debate yet, my friends. As engaged citizens operating the machinery of self-governance, it’s one of our most sacred duties. And if we can’t reintroduce some human dignity and ethical wisdom into even our most heated disagreements, then we’re royally failing ourselves and squandering democracy’s highest ideals too.

Stay respectful, stay civil – our democracy demands it! 🇺🇸