On a No Limits Society
A woman trying to get her order right at a fast food driveup window hears a guy behind her screaming “get moving bitch”! A school board member is confronted by two men fists balled, neck veins popping, screaming at them for their position on COVID issues. Airlines report over five thousand unruly passenger incidents so far this year, mostly over masking. In 2019, 82% of those polled admitted to committing a road rage incident. This is no country for civil people.

Our leadership is mirroring our aggression. The latest example is Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) who posted a video cartoon of himself slashing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) throat and killing her. Today Gosar said the outrage at this posting is a gross misunderstanding and he was just trying to show good triumphing over evil. He’s got kindred souls with him on Capitol Hill. Majorie Taylor Green (R-GA) draws media when she accosts various members of the House, screaming and challenging them for the cameras. On the Democratic side, Maxine Waters was highly criticized for urging supporters to get in politicians faces when they see them on the street. And then there is the former President, who famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?". Then there was that little Capitol outing on January 6th….

America is already the leader among nations in the amount of violence and murder in our society. Where it used to be that murder was an extreme way to solve disputes, it now seems to be “go to” method of resolution. The question that is being raised in all of these leadership displays of anger and aggression, is where will it lead. And are these “leaders” actually inciting political violence and murder? A tough question for a nation that ducks self-reflection.

As in all things, our media plays a role. We see the endless video loops of Kyle Rittenhouse shooting protesters, a host of TV shows detailing murder and mayhem, all brought into our homes with a 24/7 news cycle. The arts complement this age of aggression in painting, movies and song. Oh, you say, that’s just art imitating life. Well there is one hell of a lot of problems being resolved through peaceful dispute resolution processes, civilized debate and the intervention of positive leadership. But that stuff doesn’t move the ratings needle up or make someone a load of money. We have become a society that wallows in its worst instincts.

The root of much of this, can be laid at the foot of our current confusion about change. Big change. People’s lives have been destabilized both economically and socially. We have a whole lot of fears. We lack confidence in the future. We don’t trust each other. Those anxieties and pressures have morphed from an individual feeling to a national mood. There are plenty of opportunists and snake oil salesmen plumbing the depths of our negativity and stoking the fires of outrageous incivility. It’s a money maker and it builds power.

The answer is a war on incivility, a movement for positive solutions and a demand that our leadership model a society that is figuring things out together. That doesn’t mean we won’t have disputes, earnest debate and a long road to consensus. But it isn’t serving us well to do it with unrestrained anger and the incitement of violent solutions. It’s really as simple as parents telling children, who are having a fit, “use your words”, use your words”….

Ihg 11-10-2021
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