“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.”
You may recognize those lines from Max Ehrmann’s wise and oft-quoted “Desiderata.”
As well as these:
“Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.”
I present them in partial answer to a thoughtful question raised last Sunday in the Perspective section. Toni Seger, an award-winning filmmaker and founder of a western Maine cultural council, asked how the exercise of free speech has become a dirty word. She described being refused permission to hang a political sign at a local business or set up a booth at a festival.
I agree that this happens, and I have some thoughts on why.
We are, I believe, seeing the venom that has poisoned national politics dripping down through our political system and into our lives.
You will sometimes hear veteran members of Congress talk of the way things used to be in Washington. Senators would argue the issues by day, then share a cigar or dinner by night.
They now lament the new breed of members who tend to be scorched-earth political jihadists. They are elected not to exercise the great art of debate and compromise, nor necessarily to examine, weigh and decide on the best course for the nation. They feel sent to Washington with a precise political philosophy and agenda.
Taxes. Abortion. Gun rights. It’s a world of hard absolutes, not shadows and nuances.
The rise of in-your-face talk radio, the “Hardball” style TV talk shows, and the quick-hit, 30-second TV spot have all magnified this growing zealotry.
As others have observed, Americans have been further polarized by the current presidential administration and the war in Iraq.
The seeds of discord were sown four years ago in one of the closest elections in history, muddied by a botched election in Florida and ultimately decided by a politicized Supreme Court. More than 50 million voters have spent the past four years convinced that the election was “stolen.”
It didn’t help that the winning party immediately set about dismantling decades worth of tax, environmental and social policy.
Then came the war in Iraq, ostensibly fought because of Saddam’s ties to international terrorism, his possession of chemical and biological weapons, and his advanced program to build nuclear weapons – none of which were later found to exist.
Is it any wonder that the American people are testy?
Bluntly, we no longer have a political culture of discussion and persuasion, but of argumentation – loud, aggressive and, as Ehrmann would say, “vexatious.”
There are, I realize, a small number of people who do enjoy rancorous hand-to-hand political combat. They go to demonstrations and exchange spittle with equally fiery opponents. Or they become talking heads, like Chris Matthews or Rush Limbaugh.
But, I’m convinced, most people do not share their zeal for personal confrontation. They have their beliefs, perhaps even strongly held and well-informed, but they don’t go to the church supper, the town festival or the parade spoiling for a fight.
Which is what political discussions seem to boil down to these days. Partisans do not want to exchange information or examine the complexities of an issue, they want to rumble.
When was the last time you “won” a political argument? It just doesn’t happen.
That explains, I think, why we now have these forbidden zones. The local businessperson knows she will “offend” some customers if she has a Kerry sign in the window. The local parade organizers know things could be unpleasant and “political” if there is a Bush booth at the festival.
And it’s easier to ban all signs and booths than differentiate between local, state and national politics.
Unfortunately, that leaves the political debate to television, the Internet, talk radio and newspapers – all of which seem to thrive on argumentation and confrontation.
Many Americans are content to watch the slugfest, but they draw the line at offending friends, customers or relatives with what they feel are too often unpleasant and ultimately circular political arguments.
Free speech may not have become “dirty,” but for too many people, political encounters with partisans have become pointless, unpleasant and worth avoiding.
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