Civility

Old Buckeye posted the following comment:  “Aren’t ridicule and belittling supposed to be in the playbook of the ‘rules for radicals?’ I think I’m going to adopt a similar stance when speaking to people I know who voted for him the first time. Say things such as ‘I can’t believe that anyone who doesn’t have their head up their b*tt would vote for the clown.’  In my estimation, conservatives tend to be too civil when it counts. The GOP, for instance, has never learned when civility should be abandoned for fighting fire with fire or rhetoric with rhetoric.”

I understand the feeling.  Despite their often mean-spiritedness, liberals are viewed as “nice” people” who are for the little guy.  Understandably, conservatives want to be viewed as “nice,” too.  We want to be viewed as for the little guy, too.  All too often that leads us to compromise our principles.  We become like John McCain, trying to go along to get along, never quite understanding that we are the only ones compromising, the other side is not.  We apologize for being conservative.

We must be much more firm in our convictions.  We must not negotiate against ourselves or give in just to be seen as cooperative or nice guys.  It is more important that people accept that we are right than that people like us.

But we should do so in a civil manner.  Indeed, we must do so in a civil manner.  In opposition to the uncivil, name-calling, intellectually-immature, ranting children on the left we must present the picture of reasonable, thoughtful, principled adults on the right.  We are at war for the soul of America.  We can only win the war by appealing to the best that is in every American.  And we don’t do that by getting down in the gutter and slinging mud with folks who think a sound intellectual argument is to call someone a big fat idiot.  We do it by providing a contrast, an alternative.  We win by inspiring people, by asking, and getting, more from them than the leftists do.  More hard work, more sacrifice, more maturity, more decency.  A key part of inspiring others is serving as role models.  We must work harder, sacrifice more, act more mature and be more decent than the leftists if we are to inspire the average American to do so.  Americans don’t want more abusive rhetoric. Americans want leaders.  We need to provide them.