Atlanta Journal Constitution: Southern Baptist spearheads civility project
Jim Galloway writes in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on a new civility project out of Atlanta:
At least one Republican thinks the harsh language and disruptions we’ve seen at town hall meetings across the country constitute a blunder — both moral and strategic — that could hurt the conservative cause in the long run.
Mark DeMoss is a conservative Southern Baptist whose Buckhead-based public relations firm serves evangelical organizations. He supported Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential primary.
Earlier this year, he joined with Lanny Davis, a prominent Washington Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter, to form something called the Civility Project.
The rules, which can be found at civilityproject.org, are simple: “(1) I will be civil in public discourse and behavior; (2) I will be respectful of others, whether or not I agree with them; and (3) I will stand up and call out incivility whenever I see it.”
Three events pushed DeMoss toward a demand for better manners in politics. “I saw an awful lot of pretty ugly rhetoric directed at Mormons in general or Mitt Romney in particular, and then eventually at me — because I was helping a Mormon,” DeMoss said. “And a lot of it came from my own camp, from evangelicals.”
Then there was the November vote in California to ban gay marriage. “Because Mormons gave so much money in support of Proposition 8, you had these cases of gay activists vandalizing Mormon churches,” he said.
At the same time, DeMoss was put off by certain comments from conservatives following Barack Obama’s victory. “I didn’t vote for him, I don’t agree with him on much of anything, but I didn’t think it was right,” he said.
DeMoss knows that some conservatives will think him wimpish for urging politeness. But he assures those who disagree that civility and surrender are not the same.
As a rule, civility keeps you humble and clears your head. Incivility amounts to a display of contempt. And a lack of respect for one’s adversary is often the first step toward disaster. See “Custer, George Armstrong.”
DeMoss would add that rudeness in the health care debate, aside from making poor video, has struck many as weakness. “Is my case against it not strong enough on its merits, so that I’d have to stop it by disrupting meetings and causing chaos?” he posed. “That’s a sad admission.”
Add comment August 20th, 2009
