Where Is Civil Discourse?
This morning’s Gazette featured an article about Council Member Jerry Heimlicher’s resignation from Colorado Springs City Council, in which Mr. Heimlicher asked his interviewer: “Did you read the blogs on the first story about me leaving? Eighty-nine as of last night, and 86 of them were ‘Glad he’s going,’ ‘About time,’ ‘Jumping rat leaving ship,’ ‘Now it’s time to get the other eight.’”
Earlier this week, during an emotional outburst on the House floor, a lawmaker shouted “You lie!” during a presidential address to congress.
Health care town halls across the nation have been met with unruly protests, and some have even resulted in violence.
These events leave me cold, and they make me wonder: where is civil discourse?
I am proud to be involved with Citizens Project because I believe strongly that mutual respect, especially among people with differing views and beliefs, should be the bare-minimum standard for political and civic interaction. And I believe that Citizens Project helps to advance this standard through our programs and by creating a safe space for people to courteously disagree and – hopefully – find things that we can all agree on.
What do you think? How can CP help to create an atmosphere of decorum in the Pikes Peak region?
DC
September 11, 2009 (2:26 pm)
You failed to mention that Jerry was also posting nasty comments on that message board, calling commenters “misfits” (repeating a rather uncivil accusation he made in the Indy some months ago), “morons” and the like.
You have a valid point about Obama, as the president has always kept his discourse perfectly civil. But if you want to talk about the way people treat Jerry, I think you need to take into account the way Jerry treats people.
I could relate my own stories about Jerry’s unpleasantness, but his comments on that message board speak for themselves. In answer to your question, I think CP could do a lot to further civil discourse if you held elected representatives (Larry Small, Margaret Radford, Jerry Heimlicher, others who have a history of saying nasty things) to the same standards you want to apply to the average Joe. Until I see that sort of equal-opportunity indignation, it’s difficult to take this sort of blog post too seriously.
Kristy Milligan
September 11, 2009 (2:57 pm)
DC, you raise a good point: citizens, regardless of their position in the community, should treat one another with respect. If Jerry Heimlicher, or any other member of council, has been uncivil, they should be reproached. However, indecent behavior from one person does not exonerate others from additional indecency. Somewhere, someone must take the moral high road and “resort” to polite dissent, as you have here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!