I Choose Civility
June 25, 2022
1909_Tyee_-_Debate_and_Oratory_illustration.jpg: Unsigned, but certainly same artist as File:1909 Tyee - baseball illustration.jpg and almost certainly: Olaf E. Caskin (–1971)
Civility is important to me because of who I am-not because of who anyone else is.
I can't force it on anyone.
It doesn't mean I don't tell the truth or believe lies.
It doesn't mean I approve or pretend to approve.
It doesn't mean I stop resisting wrong.
It's my choice.
It is how we can relate.
It is how we remain humble, teachable, and real. It is also how we stay independent of any outside mind-coercion or control. It is how we get things done and create sustainable, effective change.
War is not a viable, sustainable, or healthy state of affairs. Neither armed warfare nor political or religious warfare.
So, I'll continue to try and be civil because my basic conviction about the dignity of every human cannot change just because I find it hard to respect their choices or views. That is a predetermined conviction and if it does not work out, oh well.
There will always be a way for me to express my feelings of repulsion or resistance to a tide of culture that offends my sensibilities. But I choose to treat people as kindly as I can without criticizing those who find that difficult or impossible.
And ... I will choose my indignation toward what might be uncivil very carefully, in context, and with a sense of balance... respectfully.