Civil Discourse
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most fools do.”
—Dale Carnegie
At this moment of a world-wide coronavirus pandemic everyone says they want solutions, but practically no one attempts civil discussions of different perspectives. Maybe everyone has become too rigid. Right now, I’m wondering everyday when I will go back to school. Will I play baseball this spring? Can I see my grandparents? While I wonder if the world will ever be the same, adults in government and media seem to care little for average Americans. Instead, they are caught up in a political game in which both sides lack civility and the ability to engage in civil discourse.
Politicians and reporters ridicule each other rather than solve problems. Social media encourages 30 second videos on Twitter rather than truth. During this pandemic, a crucial part of a free country, the press, spins the story and divides us between left and right, blue and red. We don’t need antagonizing claims to get more clicks. We need facts, unbiased reporting, and real debates with possible solutions that may save us all.
Americans need to debate and discuss the right and wrong of how we are dealing with the virus. I believe that civil discourse was a crucial part of the founding of our country. Free speech is essential and unique to our founding, but it means more than bullying on Twitter. It gives us not only the right, but the responsibility of civil discourse. Our founding fathers made an unprecedented claim that each person has the right to give their opinion and have an equal say regardless of status. This can only be achieved when people engage in civil discourse.
There are political ideologies that rejected free speech and civil discourse. Regimes like Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, and China dismissed the idea of civil discourse. Their ideologies were too certain for real discourse. There was none at Auschwitz, no place for free speech during Stalins purges, and no differing perspectives during Mao’s cultural revolution. In a democracy, strength does not come from one ideology. We are strong because our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Our power is expressed through freedom to debate differing views.
I’ve always been interested in people who have the courage to express their viewpoints. Since the 2016 election, I have felt tensions rising in my hometown of Cambridge, MA. Everyone puts the same political sign in their front yard. In elementary school, we voted for president and all but one kid voted for the Democrat. I’ve wondered how long a “Make America Great Again” sign would last in my yard. That frightens me. Are Americans, even in my town, losing the ability to engage in civil discourse?
Civil discourse is even rare between teenagers. Many friends are scared to speak up and offer their own opinion. I’ve been in this situation and question why so many seem scared? Do they fear losing friends and harming their reputation? Do they fear that it will harm their chance to get into college? It’s all of those things. Politics have become woven into our lives so that even high schoolers fear negative social and academic consequences.
When I scroll through Youtube, Twitter, or Apple News, I read headlines like “Destroyed Social Justice Warrior Snowflake” or “All Trump Supporters are Racist.” These headlines do not inform us. Americans lambasting each other on Twitter isn't a way to exchange ideas. This kind of communicating is the exact opposite of civil discourse. This happens on both sides of the political spectrum. Practicing civil discourse reminds us that finding common ground and recognizing the humanity in those that we disagree with is more important than being right.
Civil discourse is essential for a free society like our democracy to function. It is the glue that keeps a country as large and diverse as ours together. Are we willing to risk it for a jab on Twitter? Will we miss solutions to problems because of fear? Or Lose friendships over political arguments? Civility allows people from different backgrounds to find common ground. It allows people who disagree to learn from each other. Civility allows us to be wrong yet value our relationships more than being right. Free speech gives us the right to say whatever we want, but civil discourse obligates us to behave in a dignified manner. I’ve learned that civil discourse is not a way to persuade those you disagree with, but a way to bring people together and lead to solutions for our country and the world’s problems. This is something we, not only Americans, but the world is in desperate need of during this pandemic.
Works Cited:
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Simon & Schuster. NY. 2011.
DeMille, Oliver. A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the
Twenty-First Century. TJedOnline.com. 2009.
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Quanto Publishing. NY. 2015.
