Civility, Tucson Style
Bill McGurn ·
Feb 21, 2011 at 8:54am
Hmmmn. Wasn't it President Obama himself who told us that our political debate did not cause the tragic shootings in Tuscon in his much-heralded speech? Personally I should like to have seen a renewed effort to increase penalties for criminals who use firearms to commit their crimes. Instead, this is what we get: a new center on civility. Says it's funded by private donations, but my bet is that within a few years the taxpayers will be propping it up.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
I just hope that the classrooms will have No Labels on the doors.
Jan '11
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
If the taxpayers can fund classes on how to give your baby a massage you know they'll wind up funding this.
http://search.fox13now.com/default.aspx?ct=r&q=baby%20massage
Dec '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
You know, Adolf Hitler had a center of civility.
Dec '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
Any curriculum at a Center for Civility in Public Discourse would have to take Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and the training materials for union organizers as prime examples of incivility in public discourse. The tactics of the Left rely on incivility, which means either (a) the Center for Civility will somehow figure out how to teach that Leftist incivility is actually civil, or (b) the Center for Civility will die an early death.
Aug '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
This is perfect timing as it allows the scholars at the new center to do data collection in Madison.
Jan '11
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
Count me out. The civility they promote is merely an expression of sensitivity. We're talking too loud. They dislike the passion, especially when turned against them.
True civility is respect. Respect begins with honesty. The truly civil conversation is not a matter of volume or tone, but of honest dialog with each other. You show respect by listening to what someone else has to say, not in the volume or blandness of your reply.
The volume of a conversation rises for one of two reasons:
If you respect who you're conversing with, civility comes naturally. I've enjoyed Ricochet so far, mostly because I respect the people on the site, contributors and members both.
Oct '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
Oh, I see. Politicians and newscasters are just too darn good at being listened to! Its good to see them humbly acknowledging the danger that their professional prowess poses to a malleable public. Also, great angle to take, filling the center on civility with people who've been the most successful in chiseling careers out of the very rhetorical culture that the center seeks to protect pepole from. The rest of us would never have dreamed of taking that approach!
Additionally hilarious is DuVal's boast that one (count 'em!) million dollars have (gasp) already been raised, while center's board and chairs are predominantly occupied by multi-millionaires - pardon me, "the right people in the right place at the right time".
Sep '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
Funny how nobody thought to build some sort of institute near Fort Hood. Fort Hood? What was that again? Oh, yeah, Muslim incivility, not important. Our elites will ignore the real motivations behind that massacre, and hope it disappears into history. Meanwhile, when one of their own is attacked (along with several other people) they will insist that it was caused by our "incivility", and not by the derangement of one individual fixated on one politician for no particular reason. This is the narrative they want to tell, and add to future history books I'm sure, so we need this new center to help them tell it that way. So, Fort Hood was caused by that one man's derangement, and not by any Islamist agenda, but Tucson was caused by people hearing/reading Republicans on the radio or internet, and one man losing control because of it. That's the story, and they're sticking to it. Just because they say so. Also, Margaret Mead was an expert on Samoan romance, and DDT is extremely dangerous. Because our elites say so.
Jan '11
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
To accommodate the demand, I hope they put an extension on the left wing of the building
http://www.businessinsider.com/elisabeth-hasselbeck-bill-maher-lara-logan-egypt-video-2011-2
Nov '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
OK, now THAT's funny!
Dec '10
Re: Civility, Tucson Style
Starve the Beast
OK, now THAT's funny! · Feb 21 at 9:08pm
Thanks, I wasn't sure that worked in print.