Fiocci

I woke up this morning to hear the latest about Kanye West and Serena Williams. This coming after last week’s outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson, this weekend’s 9/12 protests, and the rancorous town hall meetings of August. Whatever happened to a civil discourse in this country? That’s when it hit me.

Maybe people are so loud because they feel that no one is listening. Just as the civil rights movement used non-violence to bring an end to segregation, maybe we need to actively bring civility to the debate. When these people show up to protest, who are they having a dialogue with? Who do they think they are influencing? And, if there is not a voice on the opposite side of the issue, does it make it easier to label and demonize the opposition?

It is one thing to have a conversation with like-minded individuals, it is quite different to have that discussion with someone who believes differently. That is why I intend to go to my next available Tea Party wearing this Civility T-shirt and hoping to be a voice of moderation. When we only scream at each other and shout down each other’s point of view, we are doing a disservice to everyone involved. Maybe it is time to turn down the temperature on the rhetoric, one civil discussion at a time.