Civility

[Whateverist]

No complaints here.  Of course I've only found a couple of interesting threads so far.  I'm avoiding all the politics threads.  I haven't thought of any threads I wanted to make myself in this sub-forum yet but I'm sure something will come up.  

This one is a little self-referential for my taste but hey I want to support the effort.  So here I am.

Thank you for lending moral support. 

I agree that if we just use this forum to talk about the forum it's a little too meta. 

But I also think that civility is a serious issue in the world. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think civility has come to be looked down on -- something people want to get away from.

I don't think you are wrong. Civility allows people to understand differences and not just sort them into those with whom we agree and those with whom we don't. I find I've grown more and found out more about myself by challenging my initial judgment of others. I think being petty is a pretty easy place to wind up at if you don't make some effort.

For example, I think that a lot of Americans associate vulgarity with sincerity. People who swear and insult are thought to be "real," while those who are careful and courteous are dismissed as old-maidish or prigs. It looks to me as if the old idea that we vote for the President we'd like to have a beer with has degenerated even farther, into the notion that someone who speaks as if he's in a formal setting must be fake somehow. It's probably a part of good old American anti-intellectualism.

And we all know how well that (my bolded) has worked out. I think what is behind that impulse is a preference for authenticity. But an infant who becomes a toddler hasn't lost their authenticity, they've just developed. That dilemma shouldn't require an either/or solution.

Funny about intellectualism. When I was in high school I used to read William F. Buckley Jr. just for the cadence of his language and the breadth of his vocabulary. I think I was attracted to the complexity. But having studied philosophy a little I've really come to appreciate simplicity more. Only when we really understand a thing can we describe it simply, though of course some things just are complex.

(The only character in popular culture with high-level taste in the arts is Hannibal Lector.) 

I think that people voted for Trump because he's uncivil and vulgar. And I think those of us who oppose Trump shouldn't adopt his ways.

Hmmm. Serial murderer and psychopath .. or reality tv star and grifter? Tough choice.

I agree about the civility but am not as sure about the vulgarity. That is a matter of style and convention I think. Of course some vulgarity is just vile while it can also be a vehicle for humor and I appreciate that. Personally, I think levity can lighten civility and keep it from becoming ponderously solemn. But ultimately civility is about discovering what the other person needs to be at ease and open with you. One doesn't want to become a pretzel in order to accommodate another but neither should one insist too stridently on ones own social comfort.

I look forward to finding out more about you and what you think.