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Civility and the Constitution


Valin

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civility-and-the-constitution
The American Spectator:

Andrew Cline
9.10.10

I remember growing up in a conservative movement that, reacting to the rampant permissiveness of the 1960s and '70s, stressed the virtue of civility. Sure, you have the right to flagrantly offend your neighbors and your community. But should you? Conservatism used to answer "no."

It was one of the cultural demarcations between the right and the left. If you were on the right, you generally thought it unacceptable to excuse boorish behavior with the utterance, "but it's my constitutional right!"

Conservatives understood that self-restraint reduced the pressure for government-imposed restraint. We understood that with our civil rights came civic responsibilities. We understood that the United States of America was a land of tremendous religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity and that the peaceful coexistence of all of these people of such varying backgrounds and beliefs required tolerance, and tolerance meant treating others as you would have them treat you. In short, the republic itself relied upon civility.

Most conservatives still get this, I think. But sometimes I wonder how much the self-indulgence of the left has seduced our side. In the last few days, we've seen many on the right come out in defense of a proposal that once would have been almost universally considered indefensible, at least on the right -- the burning of hundreds of Korans in a deliberate attempt to anger and provoke Muslims around the world.

How can we condemn the constant and never-ending anti-Christian provocations of the radical, secular left and then rise to Terry Jones' defense on the lame excuse that he has the right to free expression? Or worse, that not going through with his planned incitement amounts to somehow giving in to the terrorists? No, it doesn't. It amounts to a belated display of common decency.

(Snip)
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You are right bout the comments.

 

This kind of tit for tat, he who yells the loudest wins mentality drives me crazy.

 

I sometimes wish I was living in a different decade. I genuinely liked the Cleaver family...so maybe the 50s would be about right.

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You are right bout the comments.

 

This kind of tit for tat, he who yells the loudest wins mentality drives me crazy.

 

I sometimes wish I was living in a different decade. I genuinely liked the Cleaver family...so maybe the 50s would be about right.

 

 

One word...Fluoride. But I know what you mean.

 

the problem is IMO way to many people don't (to paraphrase Dr. Demmings..Measure twice, cut once) Think Twice Act Once. Too many people act emotionally, now there's nothing wrong with acting emotionally, but at some point adults get their emotions under control and start acting rationally.

 

During the Bush years we had BDS Bush Derangement Syndrome, maybe we should start IDS, Islam Derangement Syndrome. You know you have it if you can't find anything positive to say about Islam, or Muslims.

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You are right bout the comments.

 

This kind of tit for tat, he who yells the loudest wins mentality drives me crazy.

 

I sometimes wish I was living in a different decade. I genuinely liked the Cleaver family...so maybe the 50s would be about right.

 

 

One word...Fluoride. But I know what you mean.

 

the problem is IMO way to many people don't (to paraphrase Dr. Demmings..Measure twice, cut once) Think Twice Act Once. Too many people act emotionally, now there's nothing wrong with acting emotionally, but at some point adults get their emotions under control and start acting rationally.

 

During the Bush years we had BDS Bush Derangement Syndrome, maybe we should start IDS, Islam Derangement Syndrome. You know you have it if you can't find anything positive to say about Islam, or Muslims.

shoutValin!

I agree with you about thinking twice. Unfortunately, with Bush Derangement Syndrome, Presidents come & go. Bush went away, even though BDR is still rampant.

 

Regarding Islam, it would be easier to see the positive side of Islam & Muslims, if they would speak out against the terror. We have Muslims who want to kill us [and they do] and we have silence [for the most part]. I don't believe that all Muslims want to kill us, but out of 1.2 billion, I would expect more support from the ones that don't want to kill us. That they are too afraid or intimidated, says more about their silence.

 

The comment below, speaks volumes, and needs to be communicated to a much wider audience, including Muslims:

 

Jews & Arabs: A Comment

 

BTW: I agree with you whole-heartedly that Quran burning is wrong. Burning any book is wrong, burning someones religious script, is sickening, and accomplishes nothing but to illustrate you are a moron. I hope everyone reads just the first comment all the way to the end.

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