Civilization Without Civility

Stay with me here, because it's going to start out sounding like I'm talking politics, and I'm really not.

I've only been on the boards of the Houston Chronicle for a short while, and I'm shocked by something. While there are good ideas and bad ones here, almost all are presented in a light that they shouldn't. Comments on stories are rife with sarcasm, bitterness, and hatred. Democrats crow about BO and how the other folks "better move away", Republicans spew venom right back, saying how he's actually a traitor, Dems better watch out, etc. A simple story about a 100-0 basketball game caused a furor, because there are many, many people out there that feel "those teenagers deserve what they get."

No wonder Christ so often shook his head in dispair and remarked about how blind we are. One look at the Chronicle boards confirms it. Even a good idea has no merit when it is presented in such a way as to demean the opposing viewpoint as much as possible. As Americans, we want to place the blame for the hatred of our country and our way of life on external factors: Islamic intolerance, European snobbery, jealosy of what we have. In truth, we need to look inward. Unlike any country I have been to, (and I've been to many), the people of the United States have forgotten what it means to be civil.

Being civil doesn't mean you have to agree with someone. It doesn't mean you have to kiss up to them. It simply means that, when a retort comes to mind that is emotional in nature rather than an advancement of an arguement, you do not say it. Attacking people serves no purpose, no matter how indignant or self-righteous one might feel.

Christ talked about love constantly. In Leviticus, we are charged with "You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall reason with your neighbor, and shall suffer no sin upon him. You shall not avenge, nor hold any grudge against the children of your people, but shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

Notice the "shalls" there? It's not optional. It's not just "being nice" to hold your peace every now and then. For those of us who claim to be people of faith, we are ordered to do this. Christ was (and is) called every name in the book, yet He never responded to it. As Christians, we are supposed to follow His example. How many Christians become "holier than thou" and belittle others for choices they do not agree with? I was taught to hate the sin, but to love the sinner. I don't know about you, but, in loving someone, I do not belittle. I do not demean or insult. I do not injure, either physically, emotionally, mentally, or verbally. Instead, out of love, I pull that person closer. I share. I discuss. I dialogue and comfort.

One last thought, as it was politics that got me to thinking about this. We get the leaders we deserve. The Bible also backs this up. Instead of pouting if a leader on any level comes into your life, what about looking inside to see what could cause you to deserve such a leader? If, (and I say this only for the point of demonstration), IF President Obama really is a horrible person who shouldn't be in his position, or IF President Bush was evil, what did we do, as a country, to deserve them? Perhaps a lack of civility, an inability to love our neighbors, created the situation in the first place.