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Archive: September 13, 2009 - September 19, 2009
Seven Suggestions for Christians in the Public Square
Political talk has had an ugly side, but things are getting worse. Hateful talk is no longer underground, but practiced openly and shamelessly. Mainstream politicians are more willing to tolerate association with fringe rhetoric. So what should Christians do?
By John Mark Reynolds | September 18, 2009; 2:56 PM ET | Comments (8)
The Problem is Me
When I denigrate someone else's opinion with shrill and sarcastic language, or in my rebuttal of someone's argument I search for clever words and phrases that demean and ridicule the individual, I have become the problem.
By Michael Otterson | September 18, 2009; 10:02 AM ET | Comments (11)
An Epidemic of Bullying
It may be cheap fun to watch someone else get pounded by the thugs--but bullies have a way of turning on their former friends and allies. Watch out--you may be next!
By Starhawk | September 18, 2009; 4:05 AM ET | Comments (11)
Rage About the Transfer of Power
We are witnessing in our nation a dramatic shift in power. Such a shift always means that those who have in the past possessed power are seeing that power weakened and those who were formerly the powerless ones are becoming empowered. Rage always accompanies the transfer of power.
By John Shelby Spong | September 17, 2009; 1:43 PM ET | Comments (10)
Fashion and Compassion
A fashionable New Year? Remember, God is clothed in charity.
By Erica Brown | September 17, 2009; 8:40 AM ET | Comments (1)
Celebrity and Power Trump Civility
The contemporary devaluation of humility, civility, truthfulness, and responsibility has been particularly detrimental to us both collectively and individually.
By Ramdas Lamb | September 17, 2009; 5:48 AM ET | Comments (2)
The Cost of Materialism and Prejudice
The message we impart to our children is to get to the top by any means possible. And success is always measured in terms of material possessions and power.
By Arun Gandhi | September 16, 2009; 1:33 PM ET | Comments (3)
Praying for Civility
If we waited (and prayed) instead of giving into anger, self-righteousness, and resentment, that we'd more readily find a solution - not just to that anger and resentment, but also to the issue that was causing those feelings?
By Phil Davis | September 16, 2009; 12:52 PM ET | Comments (3)
Less Pluralism, More Dogmatism
Where pluralism rests comfortably in the gray, we are sadly becoming a nation that only sees in black and white.
By Aseem Shukla | September 16, 2009; 10:32 AM ET | Comments (21)
Faith's Response to Incivility
Religious faith cannot eliminate the incivility endemic in our society. Anger and hatred have existed perpetually and they are symptomatic of our fractured condition. But religious faith, at its most authentic, can inspire us to inculcate qualities and habits that make us fully and truly human: respect, humility and love.
By Kerry Robinson | September 16, 2009; 6:31 AM ET | Comments (5)
Losing Trust in God and Government
Our former thickness of trust in God has shrunk into the thinness of trust in "the system" sustaining their consumerist way of life.
By Willis E. Elliott | September 16, 2009; 12:19 AM ET | Comments (13)
Society's Belligerence
At the heart of uncivil behavior is a heart rooted in something outside of love, for whatever reason; be it selfish, or fearful; angry or manipulative.
By Matt Maher | September 15, 2009; 11:56 PM ET | Comments (2)
When God Tells You to Hate
The rise of incivility in this country is a symptom of mass psychopathology. Groups of people see other groups of people behaving badly, and this gives them permission to behave badly themselves. The same thing happens in families.
By Deepak Chopra | September 15, 2009; 6:32 PM ET | Comments (4)
Unhinged Society Needs Scapegoats
Unhinged politicians, wrathful preachers, belligerent protesters and hateful pundits pursue a practice as old as the Bible. They create scapegoats.
By Robert Parham | September 15, 2009; 3:35 PM ET | Comments (2)
Concert for Pakistan
Saturday night Sept. 12 was not a typical evening at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York. There was praying, dancing in the aisles, and rock star performances. The night was a much-needed outpour of support, a rally for the Pakistani refugees in the North West region of the country.
By Salman Ahmad | September 15, 2009; 2:42 PM ET | Comments (0)
God Expects Us to Be Civil to Each Other
Have we become so consumed with the idea of winning a political battle that we've lost sight of basic virtues of our faith like The Golden Rule? I certainly hope not. God expects - He demands -- more of us than that.
By Jim Daly | September 15, 2009; 12:46 PM ET | Comments (15)
Boors, Cads and Cretins
We live in an age of internet discourtesy, where insults are as common as ideograms. Disconnected from one another we feel too free to berate and belittle
By David Wolpe | September 15, 2009; 10:54 AM ET | Comments (44)
Unrepentant Liars on the Right and the Left
Politics has always been a contact sport. There once were canings and worse language than "you lie" on the floor of Congress. Alcohol fueled some of the rhetoric and first fights were always a possibility.
By Cal Thomas | September 15, 2009; 10:02 AM ET | Comments (14)
Talking to "The Other"
Despite what Psalm 37 and Jesus say, I see little evidence of the meek inheriting the earth. However, I see much evidence for the belligerent and loud-mouthed inheriting talk shows, and the aggressive and cantankerous inheriting political careers.
By Herb Silverman | September 15, 2009; 8:29 AM ET | Comments (15)
Why Joe (and Kanye and Serena) Won't Apologize
Civility is about creating a culture of mutual respect, not simply making sure that the biggest celebrity in the room has their moment. But Serena doesn't get that, and neither do Kanye or Joe. And that's why they can not or will not offer meaningful apologies for their bad behavior.
By Brad Hirschfield | September 15, 2009; 7:40 AM ET | Comments (186)
Fear, Suspicion and Change
Some of the anger expressed on the floor of the joint session of the United States Congress indicates an unwillingness to accept the verdict at Appomattox Court House that ended the Confederacy.
By Gardner Calvin Taylor | September 14, 2009; 10:03 PM ET | Comments (8)
It's not "Incivility," It's Racial Prejudice
What we are seeing in our public life right now in this writhing, screaming and resisting President Obama's leadership is, in fact, the next step on the journey toward one America. The vitriol is coming from the still deeply held race-prejudices in some that are being are pulled out into the open and exposed.
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite | September 14, 2009; 5:40 PM ET | Comments (36)
Rage, Racism And American Unreason
What we are seeing is the rage of a minority at an African-American president who is considered not only wrong in his policies but illegitimate as the leader of our nation.
By Susan Jacoby | September 14, 2009; 3:08 PM ET | Comments (657)
