Why Civility Is Dead - Essay Example

We also know that their verbal disruption polarizes and poisons the debate. We no longer perceive political animosity as something unusual. By now we heard how Congressman Joe Wilson yelled to President Obama and called him "liar". However, the lack of courteous behavior in politics is not the most troubling one, now that it moved to the public realm. Television helped a lot in showing foul language and numbing our sensibility with constant broadcasting of rude behavior. In addition, the anonymity of the internet allows people to launch freely their anger.

Mass media likes to focus its attention on nasty personal attacks performed by celebrities. The U.S society has a deep fascination with celebrities and I believe that their worldwide broadcast of indiscretions forced society to ask if civility is no more. An example of how showing disrespect undermines your chances to win is Serena Williams' outburst at the US Open, which cost her the tournament. We think that just because they are famous, such people can get away with anything. Though the celebrities we admire often lack social manners and basic etiquette in communication with others there are some that prove the exception.

The rapper Kanye West rushed on stage during the MTV Video Music Awards to grab the microphone from Taylor Swift who accepted the statuette for best female video. West interrupted the winner shouting that Beyonce should have won. The most poignant sign that civility does exist came from Beyonce who brought Taylor Swift back to the stage and encouraged her to re-do her speech.P.M. Forni (cited in Sarnoff-Ross, 2009) commented that American society is well-known for its informal conduct, however very often informality crosses and ends as incivility.

Instead of reprimanding and admonishing celebrities' lack of cordiality, we should seek more examples of how people preserve their good manners and tact and be more supportive as a community. We have to remind ourselves that kind words can open many doors, and we can conquer the world, but impoliteness can affect every aspect of our lives, as in the case of Serena Williams. The capacity to teach cordiality and respect for the others, as well as expressing consideration for their feelings is a sign of strong character and possession of ethical and moral principles.

We live in an era of total disclosure and uncontrolled expressions. How can we encourage courteous behavior and stimulate good manners and tactfulness Probably the best answer is for good-natured people to spread a clear example of respectful communication and to show decency in handling challenging situations and to denote those who do not.