If civil discourse from public figures and politicians in this country is needed to save the planet I, for one, will be making my final plans. In recent weeks, the level of intolerance, personal attacks, and the lack of civility has reached an all time low in this country. My breaking point was the posting by the attorney formerly associated with CBS who stated that she felt no sympathy for the victims of the massacre in Las Vegas because apparently only white Republicans attend country music concerts and she believes such people are fair game for killing. More troubling – the sound of crickets from all levels of leadership in this country against such hatred and acceptance of violence against a certain segment of our population. Such tacit consent for hatred and violence does not bode well for any organization within our country, much less the country itself. The silence is deafening from virtually the entire political and socioeconomic spectrum. In my assessment, no one has anything to be smug about here because no one seems to be standing up and saying, “enough!”
No one, and I do mean no one, should be the target of such filth. We may not agree on politics, religion, sports, or whatever topic, but each of us has the right to feel safe and secure when expressing an opinion on any topic – AND the obligation to be civil as we do so. Yes, even those who espouse hatred toward an individual or group because of race, gender, etc., have the constitutionally protected right to stand up and publicly demonstrate how misinformed, intolerant, and stupid they really are. But no one has the right to espouse violence against another. And when such tragedies as Las Vegas happen, no one has the moral superiority to gloat over the deaths and maiming of hundreds of people. That concert wasn’t about politics. Plain and simple, it was about listening to and enjoying the music by a group of very talented musicians.
To those talking heads, political pundits, and public figures who publicly demonstrated their complete lack of sensitivity and civility – out of respect for those who lives were lost and those whose lives have now been horribly changed, if you can’t be civil, just be quiet.