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Response to Graham’s Death a Barometer of Civility, We’re Running Low · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham, the long time United States Senative from South Carolina,
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  Speaker 1: has died. He was seventy one. News of his passing
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  Speaker 1: broke early Sunday morning. Sadly, for many, it seemed to
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  Speaker 1: serve as a call to the post for an onslaught
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  Speaker 1: of vitriol, a torrent of venom directed at a man
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  Speaker 1: who spent decades in public service. Why was Graham perfect?
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  Speaker 1: Of course not, he was human. Was he ever wrong? Certainly, again,
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  Speaker 1: he was human. There's no requirement that anyone agree with
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  Speaker 1: Graham's policies. Agreement has never been the standard for good citizenship.
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  Speaker 1: Disagreement is at the heart the very essence of the
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  Speaker 1: American experience, as is the freedom to speak one's mind
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  Speaker 1: without government interference. But speaking with a civil tongue is
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  Speaker 1: not a crime either. For reasons that defy explanation, many Americans,
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  Speaker 1: even West Virginians, have come to regard cruelty as acceps
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  Speaker 1: as those civility were not a virtue but a vice.
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  Speaker 1: Don't take my word for it. Look at social media.
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  Speaker 1: You'll find the ugliness there, including from fellow mountaineers. None
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  Speaker 1: of it bears repeating, but Sunday's response raises a concern
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  Speaker 1: much larger than Lindsey Graham. The American system cannot function
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  Speaker 1: without civility. Perhaps this pen returns to that theme too often,
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  Speaker 1: but the growing lack of civility in American society only
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  Speaker 1: makes the message more necessary. A constitutional republic depends on
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  Speaker 1: more than written rules. It depends on a people capable
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  Speaker 1: of self restraint. Many appear to have lost that capability.
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  Speaker 1: The Constitution can separate powers, protect rights, and limit government.
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  Speaker 1: What it can't do by itself is make citizens behave
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  Speaker 1: with honesty, humility, patience, or respect for opposing views. That
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  Speaker 1: ingredient is assumed. When the public loses the habit of civility,
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  Speaker 1: every political disagreement becomes a fight for total control. Constitutional
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  Speaker 1: limits then begin to look like obstacles to be overcome,
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  Speaker 1: rather than safeguards to be preserved. That is why civility
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  Speaker 1: really matters. Responses to Graham's death are a barometer of
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  Speaker 1: our collective mind, and the measurement isn't good. Lose enough
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  Speaker 1: civility or lose it altogether, and a nation becomes susceptible
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  Speaker 1: to rot from within. Perhaps some of that rot has
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  Speaker 1: already begun. I hope not, and understand this Civility does
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  Speaker 1: not mean weakness. It does not require surrendering principles or
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  Speaker 1: pretending serious disagreements are insignificant. It means recognizing that political
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  Speaker 1: opponents are still fellow citizens, not enemies to be humiliated
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  Speaker 1: or destroyed. Means debating ideas without dehumanizing people. It means
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  Speaker 1: remembering that today's majority may become tomorrow's minority. It means
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  Speaker 1: looking out for the other person and treating him as
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  Speaker 1: you want to be treated, even when you believe he
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  Speaker 1: is wrong, and even when you believe he has wronged you.
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  Speaker 1: Civility makes us better, not weaker. Graham's death should prompt
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  Speaker 1: a moment of reflection in this country. So should the
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  Speaker 1: response to the death, defeat, or downfall of anyone we
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  Speaker 1: consider a political opponent. Before joining the mob, perhaps each
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  Speaker 1: of us should ask a difficult question, is this really
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  Speaker 1: the America we want? The honest answer should be, and
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  Speaker 1: hopefully is, no.