The Civility War

By Hank Silverberg 

     The United States fought the Civil War between 1861 and 1865. It came after decades of long standing divisions over slavery and attempts at compromise that failed. The United States began fighting the Civility War in 2015. It came after long standing divisions between rich, poor, black, white and brown. The melting pot that created the greatest country in human history began boiling over.                                                                                               It was like Americans had gathered for one big Thanksgiving dinner. The family didn’t always get along, but they tolerated their differences in wealth, religion and politics because that is what the family known as “Americans” do. This year though, the rich, pompous cousin no one really likes, and his kids, were invited for the first time in years and we didn’t know what to expect from them. Some of us said he would come in with some new ideas and bring a big turkey. Others wanted nothing to do with his crude manner and his spoiled kids. 

      The fighting began the minute he walked in the door when he bragged about the huge size of his car and complained about the small size of our Canadian turkey.  He didn’t want anything to do with the poor neighbors who had been invited to join us all for dinner.  All civility was lost.                                                                                                           Okay. Had enough? You can see where I am going with this. Life in America has been uncomfortable for millions of people since Donald Trump was elected President. He set the tone on June 16, 2015 when he came down an escalator at Trump Tower in New York, announced he was running for President, and then proceeded to call immigrants “rapists” and “murderers.”                                                                                                                        In a series of debates with other GOP contenders he used insults and name calling to attack his opponents instead of facts. “Little Marco,” (Sen. Marco Rubio) and “Lying Ted,” (Sen Ted Cruz) were the enemy. Their ideas didn’t matter.  Then he switched to “Crooked Hilary” for the general election. Same tactic. It was just all "politics," most people said. It was amusing and we all let it slide for months. But the tone had been set.                                                 Donald Trump’s election stunned millions of people. There were many reasons why he won, and there is no need to recap that here. But the lack of civility he set during the election continued Inauguration Day when the first thing he did was complain that the media was under-reporting the number of people who attended. His press secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, lied to the American people before the Inauguration Balls were over.                                    A funeral for civility was held before Trump had served a week in office. The media became the "enemy of the people" reporting "fake news."             So, this all brings us to this week where I got into a discussion on Facebook about the loss of civility in America.  It was rude, many of the posters wrote, that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen was yelled at while she ate dinner at, of all places, a Mexican restaurant in Washington, at the same time children were being separated from their parents at the Rio Grande. It was impolite, wrote some posters, for the owner of the Red Hen  in Lexington, Virginia, in a county that went 66% for Trump in the election, to ask Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave the restaurant before she had ordered her dinner.       

(The Red Hen,

Courtesy Virginia.org)

 Conservatives went ballistic at “leftist liberals,” and their lack of civility. Liberals went ballistic back, pointing out there was no outrage from the right when two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia coffee shop for “sitting too long while black.” The name calling continues.                                                          Lost in all this is the tragedy that continues on our southern border and the direct emotional damage it is doing to thousands of children. Though all this, Congress fiddles. They complain about the lack of civility, about “unsecure borders,” about the President’s sometimes incoherent and off topic tweets, but they do NOTHING. 

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

Such a difference in the media coverage of the same immigration policies between the Obama Administration and ours. Actually, we have done a far better job in that our facilities are cleaner and better run than were the facilities under Obama. Fake News is working overtime!

8:36am · 25 Jun 2018 · Twitter for iPhone

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      They’ll do something about our failing infrastructure, soaring deficit, health care costs and immigration after the mid-term elections, we are told.  And the uncivilized beat goes on. 
      What is missing in all of this talk about “civility,” is the damage it is doing to the very fabric of the United States of America. Our long-term role as leader of the free world is evaporating, our allies are laughing at us and our enemies are trying to exploit the division.  Our institutions are failing to get the job done and all we are hearing about is a public official who was offended because her dinner was interrupted.  She’s a public official. To quote Harry Truman, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” 
     Everyone needs to calm down, deal with the reality and not the fiction some of our leadership wants us to fall for, and get the job done. If not, then the family may not get together this coming Thanksgiving and that turkey and cranberry sauce will have a sour taste.  

                   (Your comments and suggestions are welcome)  

     

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