Older and Weiser

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) did us all a huge favor Wednesday night.

By shouting “You lie” in the midst of the President’s speech before a joint session of Congress and in front of a national television audience, he drew a line that none of us should cross, whether we are members of Congress or interested Americans.

If the creed of our democracy is open debate then its watchword must be civility.  As Americans, each of us owes others the courtesy of listening to their views and assuming their patriotism.  Even as no American is forced to agree with another, we all must show respect to one-another or our ability to solve problems together – the differentiating quality of our democracy observed by Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1835 commentary – is utterly disabled.

Civil dialogue is both a critical tool and an end in itself.  My Republican friends demonstrate that when they attack the President’s health care proposals with half-truths and pettiness, instead of with arguments rooted in economic fact.  They will not defeat a deeply flawed plan that way and, sadly, any chance of passing something measurably better will be foreclosed by the uncivil dialogue that comes from them.

For me, it was serendipity that I spent Tuesday and Wednesday chairing the 56th National Conference on Citizenship at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.  The conference was an oasis of civility in an otherwise hostile and partisan city.  There, some 400 representatives of both parties and thinkers from every hue in the political spectrum come together to discuss ways that Americans could become more involved in the running of their communities, states and country.

My fellow NCoC director Tom Susman, a Democrat, who heads the government relations office of the American Bar Association, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, arguably the most conservative of member of the High Court, shared the stage for an enlightening discussion about the judiciary and the state of our citizenship.  A reasonable person might ask: given their political differences, what could they possibly agree on?   Only, that our system of government thrives on the involvement of its citizens.  That Americans steeped in American history and civics make better citizens.  And, that our ability to respectfully disagree with each other – and to make common cause on the issues where we can agree – is the strength of our democracy.

In other words, they agreed on quite a lot.   Together, they were a powerful example of how we bring out the best in one-another by finding the things we have in common.

Their warm and humorous repartee also reminded me to speak more softly and less self-assuredly; to listen more carefully and to put aside my most aggressive rhetorical tendencies.  My colleague Robert Peach refers to Older & Weiser as “a gridiron for civil discourse.”  Our goal is to welcome to this blog many points of view that are stated with respect.

Though chastised, the Honorable Mr. Wilson of South Carolina is still honorable today.  He has apologized for his “uncivil” behavior and will, in all likelihood, survive the political result of his emotional outburst.  The line he has drawn is clear and bright.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Michael Weiser