Introduction
The Meanings and Uses of Civility
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2014
Summary
People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?... Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.
Rodney King, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pbyi0JwNug&playnext=1&list=PLB874144170217AF6&index=15Incivility isn’t just accepted these days – from celebrity news to TV shows – it’s glorified.
Kristen Powers, A Crisis of CivilityCivility may well be a virtue, but it is probably not a virtue that will be of much help in deciding the political questions that ultimately matter.
James Schmidt, Is Civility a Virtue?Introduction
Today we are in another of those eras in which political leaders and commentators periodically bemoan a crisis of incivility. Throughout American history, the discourse of civility has proven quite resilient and concern for a perceived lack of civility has ebbed and flowed in recognizable patterns. Somehow, we continue to find ways to talk about civility and to warn of its demise.
Today we see civility eviscerated daily on cable TV. “Uncivil” has become synonymous with being wholly and closed-mindedly “partisan.” Today we witness the most vile and random destruction of human life in the name of one or another political cause. As a result, the claims of civility, and the call to restore civility, seem undeniably pertinent.
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- Information
- Civility, Legality, and Justice in America , pp. 1 - 14Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
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