Dan Glickman: Where are the better angels of our politics?

As this nation stood on the brink of civil war, President Lincoln implored Americans and their political leaders to think of “the better angels of our nature” before committing totally to the dissolution of the Union. The plea for civility during one of the most bitter and divisive periods of American history was an attempt to call on a cultural tenet of respect for those with whom you disagree.

The value of civility was a necessary component of our culture at our founding, because we are a union of different states, then led by people with different ideas of how a federal state should look, but all committed to the idea of the freedom of belief and expression. We learned early on to disagree agreeably.

Today, things are different. We have witnessed a substantial erosion of civility in political discourse in contemporary politics. In my view, the end of civility in our political system is a true loss for every American, Republican and Democrat alike.

The state of contemporary politics is one in which bombast is met with approval. Extreme viewpoints are greeted with appreciative nods by a disturbingly large segment of the American electorate, and so the incentive for political leaders to make such comments is significant.

Donald Trump, of course, looms large when discussing the lack of civility in public dialogue, but he is not alone in this trend. Numerous other politicians on all sides are far too willing to cast aspersions, make threats or otherwise fan the flames of hatred and mistrust.

In this uncivil process we ignore substantive issues facing actual people in favor of negativity and bitterness. The political rewards for uncivil behavior may give candidates a bump in the polls or increase their fundraising, but the cumulative damage such actions are doing to this country by normalizing those behaviors is astounding.

There are elements of our society charged with keeping things civil, but they are not taking strong enough action on that front. All the world’s great religions have elevated the Golden Rule, that we should do unto others as we would wish done unto us. So where is the religious community on the sad state of public dialogue in America? Have values of humility and decency gone completely AWOL from our modern society?

I realize that politics isn’t beanbag, and debates on important issues can and should have an edge. But what we have today goes beyond an edge.

This country is crying out for solutions to our myriad problems, but our culture often rewards meanness, division and incivility. The emphasis on the latter makes the former all that much more difficult to achieve.

Lincoln’s words have real meaning, and I hope our political leaders will try to appeal to the better angels of our nature, and their own.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Dan Glickman: Where are the better angels of our politics?."