Civility Rules

These days, it’s easy to feel disconnected from the world and, more importantly, from each other. Every day, it’s clear to see that we’ve lost our ability to constructively relate to one another. It’s easy to blame technology for the ever-increasing tensions that characterize so many of our interactions, but assigning blame to online “bubble” culture or a divisive media apparatus only obscures the deeper issue lying at the heart of our fractured society and ourselves. Putting the onus on others dangerously abdicates responsibility from individuals and hands over control for how we socialize to increasingly powerful governmental organizations. What we are missing at the core of our cultural discourse is civility. It’s a word and concept that has recently regained a foothold in our national discussion, specifically around politics. Though the toxic nature of incivility has begun to corrode our daily lives, Shelby Scarbrough believes there is hope that we can all help create a more civil