I think Dave Cramer said it best. At our churches’ annual meeting last Sunday, he repeatedly urged the congregation to “be firm in your beliefs, but be fair in your comments.” Dave is Emanuel Lutheran Church’s council president and he was speaking in regards to the highly contentious “gender issue” that is dividing the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America, of which of Emanuel is, for now, a member.
However, this column is not about whether or not my congregation should leave the ELCA in response to some its position on gay pastors. Well—maybe it is a LITTLE about that—but, more generally, this column will deal with the general tone of debate in this country—the “vitriol” in our public discourse, so defined by Arizona Sheriff Dupnik.
Liberal talk radio host Chris Bradshaw (98.3 FM Des Moines) summarized the change in rhetoric as “We’ve gone from ‘I’m right; you’re wrong’ to ‘I’m right; you’re evil or you’re un-American or you’re un-Christian’.” I think both Bradshaw and Cramer have a point. Although there has always been strident political debate in America, the tone of this debate has definitely taken a sharp turn to the gutter in the past decade. AND—the standard to which we should ALL strive is that of disagreeing in a passionate way—but doing so in a civilized manner. In other words, if you don’t like my stand on the gender ruling or the war in Iraq—that’s fine—but you shouldn’t tell me I am unChristian or unAmerican because I disagree with you. And, yes, I have been called these things many times.
After quite a bit of research and pondering, I have decided that I do not think that the shooting of Congressperson Gabby Giffords was primarily inspired by political rhetoric. There is no evidence Jared Lee Loughner was a Palinite or a Glenn Beck fan or a Tea Partier. There is quite a bit of evidence that he was crazy as a loon. However, the horrific incident in an Arizona parking lot should serve as a wake-up call to all of us that actively participate in political debate.
And—by all of us I mean ME too. Do I—in my writings and my speeches—defend my beliefs passionately, while still remaining respectful of others? Not always. I have been known to throw the term “idiot” out when referring to Representative Steve King and to mock Sarah Palin at every given opportunity. Perhaps it is time for me to stop that—no matter how entertaining it is for you to read.
I, personally, have been particularly vitriolic in response to blog posters. They don’t have to sign their name so they can say truly nasty things with absolutely no accountability. This really ticks me off. SO—I “take the high road” and sign my name--but I say even nastier things back. Since I sign my name, does this make me a better person than “anonymous”?
I am beginning to think that that isn’t the point. It doesn’t seem to matter if I am “more right” than the person to whom I am responding—the power of my words is not changed by my “rightness” or my “wrongness.” Even the most innocuous speech can be taken to the extreme by an unhinged listener or reader and some of the comments I’ve made on blogs are certainly not innocuous. And—even if I am completely in the right—a deranged person can take my words, twist them, and use them as an excuse to do evil.
I’m pretty sure Sarah Palin didn’t mean anything malevolent when she placed cross hairs over Gifford’s district on her web site—it was just a oft-used symbol. BUT—every symbol has power and we all have to be careful of the symbols we throw around.
I will say that I have been careful to NEVER go as far as many of today’s talk radio icons. For example, I’ve never said anything CLOSE—in any forum--to this quote from Beck from May 17, 2005: ''I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. ... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong?''
Or this Beck quote from 2003:''Every night I get down on my knees and pray that Dennis Kucinich will burst into flames.''
I’ve also never said, “Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?” Nopers—that racist quote belongs to Rush Limbaugh.
I could literally go on for pages citing conservative talk radio quotes that I DIDN’T say—but I think you get the point. Even though I have never said anything THAT bad (for one thing, I’m not THAT famous), I do need to learn a lesson from the Arizona tragedy and watch my vitriol as well—in all formats in which I publish.
So, I, for one, am going to try to do my small part to raise the standard of political discourse in regards to this column. I urge all my fellow commentators—liberal and conservative—to join me in this effort to be more civil. You hear that Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage—let’s work together to make a better world.
However, I’m thinking moderate speech doesn’t sell as well as vitriol and the Becks of the world will not temper their speech as long as they are making TONS of money. So, in order for the voice of reason to be heard, we all have to STOP buying the products that advertise on these offensive radio shows. Seriously—no more Snapple, no more pajamagrams, and not more Survival Seed Banks. If we want the voice of reason to be hard, we have to hit the “haters’ in the pocketbook and that means going after the advertisers. As long as Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh (among others) can make a gazillion dollars a day spewing hate—they are gonna keep doing it.
I, for one, do not get paid for my gig writing “Coffee Break,” so I guess you could say I have nothing to lose by “Oprahizing” my column. New Year’s Resolution #425: I will consider both sides when dealing with a controversial issue and I will not call people who disagree with me names. Resolution #426: I will actively boycott all products that advertise on shows that use vitriolic speech. Join me in these resolutions, my friends, and let’s work to make this word a better—safer—place.