Mike's Musings: Is Civility Gone from Politics?
I'm not going to go on a political rant here. I don't know enough about politics to be able to stand my ground against a person with half a brain, and to be honest, it doesn't particularly interest me. That being said, an article in USA Today piqued my interest because it is a disturbing reminder of where we are and how we've gotten here.
The article is about how despite beliefs that political mudslinging led to the shooting of US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others. Although whether that actually influenced Jared Lee Loughner to go on a shooting spree (he suffers from mental illness and, as of today, is still incompetent to stand trial) is up for debate, for the purposes of this edition of Mike's Musings, it's irrelevant. What is relevant is the utter disregard for manners and human decency when it comes to voicing an opinion.
Political battles have never been clean, as George Clooney argued in the vastly overrated "The Ides of March." But these days, it seems as if disagreeing with someone is no longer a setup for a discussion, but an act of war. Look at all the fire and brimstone being spewed by the GOP candidates. They're constantly slinging ads against each other, and articles are using language like "attack" for how they respond to each other.
In the article, some say that people just want to be heard in this rough economy, or that freshman congressmen want to shake things up by sticking to their guns. That may be true, but I don't think that answers the root of the problem.
We live in an age where we want our information fast and to the point. We want to be able to down all our information in quick bites. I'll admit I'm guilty of this. I read USA Today articles on my phone rather than browsing the newspaper. But with politics, things are never simple enough for those soundbites, which causes news reporters to simplify a lot.
That brings me, albeit erratically, to the social commentators. Although I admit that I'm a liberal, I won't deny that liberal social commentators are probably guilty of this too. But because I've only seen Bill O'Reilly blowing steam, I'll use him as an example. Social commentators are not news reporters, but unfortunately, some people think they are. They are not unbiased, which is how reporting should be (although very little of it is, but O'Reilly and others do little to hide it). But like everyone on TV, they need ratings. And controversy brings in big ratings. That's why O'Reilly is always cutting his guests off, insulting them and generally acting like a jerk. People want to see him rage and rant and scream till his face starts turning red. The same goes for Hannity and Colmes. These guys (and their liberal cousins) want to get people fired up so they'll keep tuning in. The politicians are merely responding to the fires. How else do you explain the racist, homophobic and shockingly offensive "Marriage Vow" that the conservative group The Family Leader encouraged politicians like Michelle Bachman to sign? African Americans were better off during slavery? Rejecting Sharia Islam in the US courts (despite the fact that it has no legal standing to begin with)? Ten years ago, people would be up in arms about this. Now we have presidential hopefuls signing it.
I'll admit my argument isn't exactly airtight, but you see my point. But there is someone else who is allowing this to go on, and is more guilty of this than all the GOP candidates combined: us.
We fling shit at each other all the time, now more than ever. Go into any message board that a lot of people go to, like iMDb, and you'll be shocked at what you read. Or perhaps you won't, because you've seen this stuff before. I remember when I heard that Wes Anderson was making a kids movie out of a Roald Dahl book, I complained on the its page (this was before I saw the "The Royal Tenenbaums" a second time). I was vilified by his apparent fans. Torn apart. Attacked. Whatever you want to call it. I vainly tried to defend myself, but only one person was actually sane about it. Or consider a viewer a few years ago, who said of him: People who don't get his movies are too narrow-minded to get them. Would a civil person make a such an insulting claim in person? I hope not (for the record, you can read the whole conversation here, although if you don't have an iMDb account, you have to read it post by post, and it's pretty long).
Why are we suddenly turning into monsters when it comes to debate? The internet.
There is a large amount of anonymity in the internet. I mean, you're just staring at a computer screen typing words to people you only know by their screen name and avatar. It's hard to remember that there's a real human being on the other side, so the temptation to say things you feel but wouldn't say in person is beyond tempting. I come from personal experience. I had some friendships turn sour because of AOL Instant Messenger. Talking online is different from face to face, or even on the phone. It's hard if not impossible to know what someone is feeling if you're just seeing their words pop up on the screen. Take trolls for instance. I believe that the majority of them are insecure adolescents who delight in causing trouble, but that stuff still hurts, regardless of whether or not it was meant in jest or not directed at anyone in particular.
The bottom line is the same as the article in USA Today. We have to act civilly to each other before the public mudslinging stops. Stop watching blowhards like Bill O'Reilly and flinging insults like Frisbees to people online. It's the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. It doesn't go away once you leave kindergarten.
The article is about how despite beliefs that political mudslinging led to the shooting of US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others. Although whether that actually influenced Jared Lee Loughner to go on a shooting spree (he suffers from mental illness and, as of today, is still incompetent to stand trial) is up for debate, for the purposes of this edition of Mike's Musings, it's irrelevant. What is relevant is the utter disregard for manners and human decency when it comes to voicing an opinion.
Political battles have never been clean, as George Clooney argued in the vastly overrated "The Ides of March." But these days, it seems as if disagreeing with someone is no longer a setup for a discussion, but an act of war. Look at all the fire and brimstone being spewed by the GOP candidates. They're constantly slinging ads against each other, and articles are using language like "attack" for how they respond to each other.
In the article, some say that people just want to be heard in this rough economy, or that freshman congressmen want to shake things up by sticking to their guns. That may be true, but I don't think that answers the root of the problem.
We live in an age where we want our information fast and to the point. We want to be able to down all our information in quick bites. I'll admit I'm guilty of this. I read USA Today articles on my phone rather than browsing the newspaper. But with politics, things are never simple enough for those soundbites, which causes news reporters to simplify a lot.
That brings me, albeit erratically, to the social commentators. Although I admit that I'm a liberal, I won't deny that liberal social commentators are probably guilty of this too. But because I've only seen Bill O'Reilly blowing steam, I'll use him as an example. Social commentators are not news reporters, but unfortunately, some people think they are. They are not unbiased, which is how reporting should be (although very little of it is, but O'Reilly and others do little to hide it). But like everyone on TV, they need ratings. And controversy brings in big ratings. That's why O'Reilly is always cutting his guests off, insulting them and generally acting like a jerk. People want to see him rage and rant and scream till his face starts turning red. The same goes for Hannity and Colmes. These guys (and their liberal cousins) want to get people fired up so they'll keep tuning in. The politicians are merely responding to the fires. How else do you explain the racist, homophobic and shockingly offensive "Marriage Vow" that the conservative group The Family Leader encouraged politicians like Michelle Bachman to sign? African Americans were better off during slavery? Rejecting Sharia Islam in the US courts (despite the fact that it has no legal standing to begin with)? Ten years ago, people would be up in arms about this. Now we have presidential hopefuls signing it.
I'll admit my argument isn't exactly airtight, but you see my point. But there is someone else who is allowing this to go on, and is more guilty of this than all the GOP candidates combined: us.
We fling shit at each other all the time, now more than ever. Go into any message board that a lot of people go to, like iMDb, and you'll be shocked at what you read. Or perhaps you won't, because you've seen this stuff before. I remember when I heard that Wes Anderson was making a kids movie out of a Roald Dahl book, I complained on the its page (this was before I saw the "The Royal Tenenbaums" a second time). I was vilified by his apparent fans. Torn apart. Attacked. Whatever you want to call it. I vainly tried to defend myself, but only one person was actually sane about it. Or consider a viewer a few years ago, who said of him: People who don't get his movies are too narrow-minded to get them. Would a civil person make a such an insulting claim in person? I hope not (for the record, you can read the whole conversation here, although if you don't have an iMDb account, you have to read it post by post, and it's pretty long).
Why are we suddenly turning into monsters when it comes to debate? The internet.
There is a large amount of anonymity in the internet. I mean, you're just staring at a computer screen typing words to people you only know by their screen name and avatar. It's hard to remember that there's a real human being on the other side, so the temptation to say things you feel but wouldn't say in person is beyond tempting. I come from personal experience. I had some friendships turn sour because of AOL Instant Messenger. Talking online is different from face to face, or even on the phone. It's hard if not impossible to know what someone is feeling if you're just seeing their words pop up on the screen. Take trolls for instance. I believe that the majority of them are insecure adolescents who delight in causing trouble, but that stuff still hurts, regardless of whether or not it was meant in jest or not directed at anyone in particular.
The bottom line is the same as the article in USA Today. We have to act civilly to each other before the public mudslinging stops. Stop watching blowhards like Bill O'Reilly and flinging insults like Frisbees to people online. It's the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. It doesn't go away once you leave kindergarten.
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