Whence Incivility?

Town hall anger echoed in Congress

Conservative parents oppose President Obama's speech to students

And this came from where? When did people start thinking it's OK to yell at your Commander in Chief during an address to Congress? (Or your congressman during a town hall?) When did people become afraid (convinced, even) that an address by the President to school children would be political propaganda? Who was the architect of this atmosphere of fear and incivility?

Bush adviser Karl Rove coming to Moorhead, Minot

People the world would have been better off without:

• Hitler
• Stalin
• bin Laden
• Rove

Sorry. I think the "win at all costs; make people afraid and they'll vote your way; all's fair in politics, even if it's lying" attitude got its start with Rove's advice to Bush Sr.

I hope he lives to see the day when he is reviled by his own party.

I still believe that intelligent, honorable people can have differences of opinion on how government should work. And they can, and should, have civil discussions about those differences, without resorting to personal attacks or assuming that a politician of the opposite party is always wrong, even before hearing what he or she has to say.

Thankfully, I know good people, friends of mine, who prove that this is true. I'm somewhat conservative for a liberal, but I'm a liberal. I have conservative friends who were as frustrated and upset as I was at the uproar about a speech that hadn't been given yet, and I expect will be equally frustrated at the "You lie!" outburst.

I blame Karl Rove, and those who decided to listen to him.


.*.*.*.*.*

For the record, here is the text of the Obama "school children" speech, and here's a link to it.

"And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your
education." Wow. How inflammatory.