Great speeches alone won’t usher in a period of greater civility. The virtue arises out of an abiding knowledge of our own failure, sin, weakness and ignorance. Full Story »
Posted by Kelly Garrett - via Real Clear Politics, New York Times (Most Emailed), Opinion Source, AllTop, New York Times (Opinion), Umbreen Bhatti (t), Johan Jessen (t), Phylora Uppman (f), David Fox (f), Jon Mitchell (f), Fabrice Florin (f), Seth Roberts Farber (f)
Insightful column by David Brooks about civility, and how it comes about. The author makes a reasonable case that civility includes the ability to learn from our mistakes and from each other, through modesty, tolerance and gratitude. He points to a shift in our culture that has encouraged people to think highly of themselves, rather than remaining humble, and suggests this may be a cause for the decline of civility in our political process. Excellent commentary.
I was really inspired by this column, because it articulates thoughtfully the importance of modesty in our daily lives. For several years, I have been trying to practice this mindset, and this helps me understand better why it's so much needed in a democracy.
Civility comes … from a sense of personal modesty and from the ensuing gratitude for the political process. Civility is the natural state for people who know how ... More »
mr brooks offers a somewhat different look at how politics today so often loses civility. he begins with praise for president obama's speech in tucson and offers philosophical, almost spiritual description of why civility is so often missing. even if readers disagree, his views in this article offer an example of his own of civil roots.
no it is not good journalism. poorly sourced (not sourced at all in fact). poorly thought-out. no new ideas and a lot of poorly recycled societal memes.
no it is not good journalism. notes (and if anybody can tell me how to get blank lines in here, lemme know :-) hey Fab - glad you were inspired by the column. I had very serious issues with it, so I thought I'd try and get them out: 1. it is sloppy and poorly argued. "we have gone from a culture that reminds people of their own limitations to a culture that encourages people to think highly of themselves". really? is there any evidence for that apart from the usual ... More »
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