2009-01-20

The Civility Project

My wife sent me a link to an article about two people with very different political, religious, and ideological views ended up forming a correspondence when one recognized and commended the other for acting courteously towards those who disagreed with him on several television appearances.

The two got together and realized that there is so much anger and divisiveness in America today, particularly about politics and religion. People talk and debate not to share ideas and encourage discussion, but to attack, divide, and belittle convictions and beliefs they don't agree with.

To that end, they came up with The Civility Project, a web site that encourages people to be civil by taking "The Civility Pledge":

  • I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.
  • I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.
  • I will stand against incivility when I see it.

The site also encourages people to post examples of civility and incivility reported in the media, and to comment on it — an open invitation to civil discourse.

It's a fairly new site, with not a lot of content as of yet, but I do hope it gets more attention. Wouldn't it be nice if people could just talk and listen, instead of berate and attack?

1 comment:

Sal Cartusciello said...

Great idea. It sure would be nice, but I am afraid we have a long road ahead of us before this becomes a "norm".

Though I sure do wish I am completely wrong in these thoughts.