Civility is just about dead. Almost every issue is a food fight these days. The Oscars. Both party's nomination processes. The replacement for Scalia on the Supreme Court. The immigration issue. Free speech on college campuses. Black Lives Matter activism. The climate.
What is the genesis of all this mud slinging? If one starts connecting the dots back from Donald Trump's brand of playground shenanigans, it is not too surprising that one ends up on the steps of the White House. The public discourse has steadily gone down hill since the 2008 elections when Obummer (yes, I have also been sucked into this base rhetoric) repeatedly gave a not-too-disguised middle finger to his political foes. Or, even further back, when Bill Clinton was using a cigar as a sex toy.
Is there any stopping this downward spiral? My guess is that it must run its evil course. Eventually the public will get disgusted with all this banality ... most likely, if Hellery gets elected, it will be when we choose the next president in 2020. Then, once again we will have to fumigate 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
There you go again... I always sensed that a respect for politicians and their ad hominem attacks was broken in the Watergate tapes, a time when the overlay (EXPLETIVE DELETED) had to be liberally applied. But that was not intended to be public. The incident in 2004 when Cheney told Leahy "Go f*** yourself!" was not directed to the public but was easily caught by the press. Joe Wilson yelling "You lie!" at a State of the Union address is more explicit. But rudest and crudest of all IMHO is Rush Limbaugh saying "I Hope Obama Fails" on
ReplyDeleteJanuary 16, 2009. "And that would be the most outrageous thing anybody in this climate could say. Shows you just how far gone we are. Well, I know, I know. I am the last man standing." That is pathetic.
I guess it was too bad Obummer didn't fail in ramming through a few of his stinkers ...
DeleteThe US is not nearly as rude and crude as the potshots that candidates lob at each other in France and Italy. U.S. history records that even after Abraham Lincoln's death, he was referred to as a "gawky, coarse, not overly clean, whisky drinking and whisky smelling Blackguard." Lincoln was known for speeches that "skinned" his opponents. That did not imply civil discourse. The difference IMHO is the use of well-crafted, satiric rhetoric instead of potty-mouth sound bites.
ReplyDeleteAgreed ...
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