The folks that believe kids don't know how to behave these days might want to model civic discourse for the kids.
I have lived on a farm. I have seen cattle stampede. It's not good for the cattle, for the land, or for the fellow standing there in the field.
More light than heat, people. Bring your arguments and discuss them like grown-ups. If your position is correct you won't have to shout others down in order to win the argument. This is a tenet of a society based on the rule of law.
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2 comments:
Please explain your inspiration for this post. :)
....sounds juicy.
I originally put a link in and took it out because it might be interpreted as partisan.
Inspiration 1/3: Kant suggested a moral rule which we know as the categorial imperative. The basic idea is that individuals should act in a way that would be ok if *everyone* acted that way.
For example, don't run red lights because if everyone did so it would be a demolition derby. Don't cut across the grass because if everyone did the grass would die. Etc.
Inspiration 2/3: Flash forward to very early August. I was in a meeting made up law-and-order types from Richardson's retiree population. Not a group known for unhinged liberality, shall we say.
Enjoyed my dinner next to one of the retired couples. Someone mentions the upcoming Pete Sessions meeting in Richardson (this is before the recess town hall event scenarios that have recently been in the news). The wife at my table chimes in:
She: I quit going to those a couple years ago because of the hecklers from the crowd.
Me: [surprised] People heckled a congressman rather than speaking in turn?
She: Yes, it was awful and I quit going.
Me: Agreed, that's just rude. I think people should speak in turn when recognized. It's one of the reasons we are a First World nation.
Ok, so this is me on the record *before* the Recent Unpleasantness saying it's inappropriate to heckle if one wants to make an argument or express a point. It makes no difference whether or not I am a Sessions fan.
Inspiration 3/3: the recent rash of disruptions at town hall and other meetings. It's rude and counterproductive, no matter who does it.
Notice that I am not passing judgement on the validity of their concerns, only with their manner of expression.
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