Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

suspended in her jar

Home
Catholic
Incivility Is Not the Problem

Incivility Is Not the Problem

Last updated on: November 9, 2018 at 12:58 am by guest writer

Incivility Is Not the Problem 2018-11-09T00:58:19-04:00 guest writer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One of the strangest comments I saw, after the tragic mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue, was from someone deploring the “incivility” of it all.

I can think of a number of tags I might use to designate such a horrific, hate-filled, and nihilistic attack on the Jewish people – but “incivility” would not be anywhere on that list.

I might complain about incivility if someone flipped me off for going the speed limit, or pushed past me in the cinema line. There’s a certain “incivility” in the sense of “uncivil behavior” in the behavior of those who heap trash in their yards, or play their music too loudly. But none of this is remotely on the par with physical violence, especially the kind of extremist and deadly violence which wiped out the lives of the victims of the synagogue shooting.

When it comes to disruptive behavior, even, I would not call all of it “uncivil.” Civil disobedience is peaceful, but disruptive in the sense that it cuts through the false unity and false peace of unjust systems. Sit-ins, marches, and protests are intended to be disruptive, but I would not call them “uncivil.” There’s nothing civil, in the sense of civic order, in a society that denies people justice and equality.

And then there’s impassioned behavior. It might not always be ideal of well-thought-out, but when people are hotly debating, or engaged in the pursuit of truth or justice, sometimes they lose their cool. This has always been the case in the world of politics, and is hardly a new phenomenon to be deplored. Perhaps we should simply be glad that people who disagree vehemently tend not to shoot each other in duels quite so much as they used to. Again, though, I would not categorize this with the uncivil and loutish behavior of those with no sense of social responsibility (the trash-heapers, and the loud-music-blasters). Often, it’s more that excess of social responsibility can get people overly fired up.

And many of the behaviors that are wrongly dubbed “uncivil” are in fact precisely intended to counter the actions of men like the Pittsburgh shooter. Speaking out against injustice, raising awareness about hate groups, calling people’s attention to who in power is abusing it: this may make people uncomfortable, and even angry, but I’m afraid the alternative is worse. The alternative is that we turn away from things that make us uncomfortable, turning a blind eye to hate groups and ideologies of prejudice – until it is too late. Until we find that the ones who came for the “Others” are now coming for us.

So, if you want to complain about incivility, focus on the people who take up two parking places, or loudly discuss their digestive ailments – not about movements of social justice, nor about those who are passionate in their defense of decency or equality. Don’t use a blanket term of condemnation to refer both to them, and to the actual killers they oppose.

But, hey, if incivility means standing up for basic human rights – well, maybe we could use a little more of it.

image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sit-in_movement

Previous Post

November 7, 2018

What Does “Believe Women” Mean?

Next Post

November 14, 2018 Eternally Shielded in Rome: How They Protect Their Own

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion anti-semitism art Atwood Betrothed church clergy abuse coronavirus culture economics education environmentalism ethics faith family feminism gardening gun violence immigration Judaism literature MaddAddam New Pro Life Movement news pandemic personalism poem politics politics blue Pope Francis racism religion salvation sexuality social justice spirituality Station eleven Stephen King The Stand Trump Uncategorized war World Health Organization

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said: "Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jude James Paul Peter

Support this
Column