The Limits of Persuasion: a personal note on civility in the months and years to come

In a perfect world, we'd all be civil to one another, never embarrass or condescend to one another.  But this is not a perfect world (which is at least one thing that, despite our many differences, we can all agree on).

Calls for civility are often used by defenders of the status quo to avoid a serious debate that they would prefer not to have. Making noise and generally behaving in an arguably "uncivil" manner is often the only way to launch a discussion, whether by drawing the attention of potential supporters or by forcing the powers-that-be to justify their positions.

Power concedes nothing without a fight. If the study of history demonstrates anything at all it is this plain and brutal fact. History is consistent to the point of monotony on this subject. A call for civility is a demand that no fight occur; it is an attempt to preclude any strong challenge to the status quo or to the established powers that benefit from it.

I'd like us all to be more civil, of course. But if the price of civility is that people go hungry, or that children go without proper education, or that people die needlessly from war or neglect, or that our environment is degraded and our planet continues to warm, then civility is not worth the price. It would be very nice to have it, but not at the expense of our well-being, let alone our very survival.