Beware of Calls for Civility

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Civility has never been a characteristic of American politics. I am amazed at the number of pundits who keep saying "we need civility." I'm not exactly sure what they mean. The word "civility means, courtesy, a polite action or expression; an exchange of civilities." Nearly everyday I hear someone say that elections have become acrimonious. But have you noticed that the people who usually call for civility are the ones who have been the victim of attacks and they turn and become uncivil.

The idea that acrimony and hostility is a new phenomenon and somehow represents a divided angry nation is totally specious. Remember we had early Vice Presidents who engaged in duels with their opponents. Attacks on Andrew Jackson's wife and family were so severe his wife was emotionally damaged, she became ill and died. Jackson was in the White House as a widower. Jackson went on to control the democratic party for several election campaigns and to run a vicious attack of his opponents. Look at the campaigns run against Rutherford B. Hayes or Grover Cleveland. More recently, remember the add that showed a little girl plucking the pedals off a daisy, a nuclear mushroom cloud rising up behind her with Barry Goldwater's acceptance speech line "extremism in the defensive of liberty is no vice." Or what about the grainy shadowy black and white picture of Richard Nixon, during his campaign for California governor with the headline "would you buy a used car from this man?" What about the
the bumper stickers showing pregnant women with the theme "I went all the way with LBJ." Nixon was an expert in dirty tricks. Attacks on Dan Qualye for mispelling potato. How about the "swift-boating of John Kerry." So let's be honest American politics is not a civil pursuit. When people talk about the uncivil turn this campaign has taken, they simply do not know history.

Let's be clear American politics are not civil, freedom is to important to minimize the issues. Calls for civility are usually a call to ignore the issue. So the next time someone tells you how acrimonious American politics have become, remind them freedom is too important to sacrifice on the altar of political correctness and civility. What we need are candidates who speak the truth no matter how hard, and lead no matter how difficult. Politicians who call for civility are on a path to loose. I for one say let's call for truth and let civility follow.

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