The Vegas Voice - Politics And Civility

Politics And Civility (Vegas Voice December 2005)

Last month, I was privileged to participate in a forum at UNLV titled "Demeanor of Democracy: Civility in Public Discourse." It was sponsored by the Boyd School of Law and the Center for Democratic Culture.

A series of panel discussions addressed such topics as the First Amendment, negative political campaigning, the mass media's treatment of uncivil politics, and trends in public discourse today. Fellow panelists included such outstanding experts as Federal District Judge James Mahan; Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada ACLU; Review-Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison; Professor Dmitri Shalin; and ethicist Craig Walton, among others.

For three hours, with help from an audience of civic leaders, scholars, and students, we discussed why civility is important, how difficult it is to define and enforce, and how much it has changed over the years as an integral part of our social fabric. To me, civility is simply following good manners and applying those basic practices we learned at home and in kindergarten, such as saying please and thank you. Whether on the floor of the Senate, in line at the grocery store, or visiting your grandparents in Sun City, being polite or civil can make a tremendous difference.

The State Senate offers an example of civility in discourse. In the Senate, one is expected never to swear or personally insult a colleague, even when disagreeing with his or her position. Furthermore, a colleague is never addressed by name on the Senate floor; rather, he or she is referred to, for example, as "my colleague from district 6." If you disagree with the person, he or she becomes "my esteemed colleague;" and if you think the person is really off base, it's "my most esteemed colleague." Civility is maintained but the point is made.

Traditions of civility are fading today, however, as term limits kick in and turnover rates increase. Also, newcomers are often elected who have not come up through the ranks and feel they owe no loyalty to either the institution or the veterans who inhabit it. Shortened legislative sessions make for longer work hours, which in turn have curtailed socializing with fellow legislators. As a result, it is not as easy as it once was to develop the friendship and trust which helped soften the personal blows in political debate. Finally, election rhetoric has become so contentious that it is hard to leave it behind once November has passed and the session begins, thereby adding to the tension and the strain on civility.

Negative campaigning is not new. Jefferson was called an atheist and vicious slurs have always been the order of the day. In early American history, candidates were even known to have thrown animal excrement at one another. Today, however, more people are directly exposed to this lack of civility through television. Political science studies show that although people claim they do not like negative ads, those are the ads that are remembered and therefore are more effective. Finally, campaign finance laws have fostered the proliferation of groups which engage in independent expenditures, almost all of which are used to pay for negative ads.

Terms used to describe politics today reflect the lack of civility: "gotcha politics," "damage control," "smashmouth tactics," and "push polls." The Vice President uses the "f" word on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The President says our troops will "kick butt." The press wrote in detail about the sexual activities of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. And tee shirts worn in public, along with bumper stickers and billboards, use the crassest of terms and imagery.

We need to restore civility in campaigns, in government, in business, and in public. But democracy is often messy, loud, and impolite. And we must be careful that when imposing good manners on political and other public debates, we do not infringe on our cherished First Amendment rights.

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