Poisoning American Civility One Day At a Time

Americans are reminded ad nauseam that we are a nation divided. There is no agreement on any issue. Pundits of varying intelligence urge us not to discuss politics. The subject is too incendiary for even the family dinner table. Hunker in a bomb proof bunker until the presidential election is decided.  

Those who carp about divisions in our country never cracked a book on American history.  The United States has been disunited for most of its 247 years.  After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860,  seven states seceded and the bloodiest war in the nation's history killed 618,222 Americans.

In 1968, the Democratic Party convention meeting in Chicago turned bloody as protestors fought with local police and national guardsmen. Tear gas was used to disperse thousands who commandeered Lincoln Park. Inside the convention, there was raucous infighting over the seating of state delegations.  

Our democracy has survived these earthquakes as well as hundreds of political aftershocks.  Division is a natural outgrowth of America's brand of democracy.  Even during World War II when America outwardly was united, there were voices of dissent in the country and in our politics. 

Step back and ask yourself: Why is the country divided today?  If you pin the blame on one of the two candidates for president, you have fallen for the partisan media's mindless doctrine. America's current divisions, like many in the past, are the byproduct of failed institutions.  

Today's media is biased, hyper-partisan and devoid of journalistic principles.  Throw social media in the mix and the result is a toxic brew which poisons politics and feeds conflict.  Americans who still care about information and news are left to sort through bins of partisan garbage to find a kernel of truth.  

Coverage of politics evokes negativity and stokes the worst human emotions.  Daily controversies are ginned up by the media to generate clicks and drive viewership numbers.  Broadcasters, newsrooms and social media influencers treat politics as a bloodsport.  

The media coverage of society, politics, issues and policy is designed to sort people into categories.  If we view America by looking in the media crockpot, we are destined for sharper divisions, perverse political discourse,  and mental stress.  

But history informs us that America's nascent media was not much more distinguished. In 1796 presidential election scandalous broadsheets were used to mercilessly smear the combatants John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. One newspaper claimed Adams wanted to become king. Sound familiar?

Congress takes no back seat to the media when it comes to name-calling and combustible rhetoric. We the people elect the 535 members of the House and Senate.  Each year the ideological center becomes smaller until it now resembles a pinprick. Lawmakers who seek compromise are voted out of office.

Congressional elections are becoming contests of the South Poles of both parties.  Each primary season Republican and Democrats vote for candidates who are more partisan.  Some would use the pejorative "extreme" to describe the electoral transition.  But, what does extreme mean today?

Elected officials must pass their party's litmus test on the issues.  If a lawmaker is not ideologically pure, then a primary opponent uses a wedge issue to displace the incumbent.  Our politics are more polarized and less civil.  Don't put all the onus on politicians.  Voters are the enemy of accommodation.

Lawmakers and the media have adopted incendiary political language that inflames public opinion.  Phrases such as far left liberal, ultra-conservative, MAGA and "woke" politicians are the equivalent of carpet bombing our politics.  Such labels do not promote dialogue or civility.   

Every national election, including the current campaign, brings out the loathsome in America.  Negativism is the grist feeding political advertising.  Pundits claim positive ads don't motivate voters, so slick campaign managers insist on a steady diet of acerbic, dreary, personal attack advertising.   

Today's ad campaigns are volcanic, but in 1964 a TV ad by Democrat President Lyndon Johnson figuratively reduced his opponent Barry Goldwater to ashes. The ad, dubbed "Daisy," featured a little girl and a nuclear mushroom cloud ignited by the Republican.

There is little new in American democracy, except the admonition not to discuss politics.  Our senses are too delicate to have conversations with friends, acquaintenaces.  Surely, you have seen unruly eruptions everywhere from school board meetings to city councils to the halls of Congress.

As a result, we have become a country of political tribalism.  People are less willing to see those of opposing views as human beings rather than enemies or dunderheads. Americans should stop taking their cues from the media and politicians and become their better selves.  

We should heed the advice of the aforementioned Thomas Jefferson:

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as a cause for withdrawing from a friend."