Civility isn’t the answer: Jennifer Mercieca on the state of political discourse

Probably very few people would brag about the happy state of political discourse in the US right now. Complaints and squabbles (and more) resound loudly from all directions 24/7, drowning out most of the suggestions and proposals for how we might work our way toward more productive civic engagement. In the midst of the cacophony, ‘civility’ is a word that pops up frequently. Will more civility save us from ourselves? Professor and historian Jennifer Mercieca says that it definitely won’t, and she presents her argument in this December 2018 essay from the blog Zócalo.

Mercieca, “Preaching civility won’t save American democracy”

1. What does Mercieca mean when she says that people in the US “treat one another as partisans first and as citizens second”? Explain her statement and summarize her argument. Does she make a convincing case? Why or why not?
2. As Mercieca notes, “our communities are divided into red and blue,” but she is careful to not position herself on one side or the other. Given the topic of her essay, would her argument be stronger if she had stated her “side”? Why do you think so? Explain your reasoning.
3. As evidence for the assertion that “our political discourse is broken,” Mercieca notes that people “yell at each other…at restaurants and on social media.” How well does that evidence demonstrate the assertion? Why do you think so? What other evidence might Mercieca have provided?
4. Mercieca relies heavily on statements made by philosopher John Dewey in the 1930s. How well does she distinguish her ideas from those of Dewey? Why do you think so? Sometimes she summarizes Dewey, while at other times she quotes him directly. Read (or re-read) Chapter 3 of your text. Why might she have chosen the quoted passages? Does Mercieca follow the same guidelines as your authors for choosing material to quote? Point to specific passages to support your conclusions.
5. Mercieca claims that the US is experiencing an “age of catastrophe” similar to the one that preceded World War II. Do you agree that the current situation is indeed a “catastrophe”? Why or why not? Write an essay that responds to Mercieca’s claim, using her argument and any other relevant material as your They Say. Support your position with reasons and evidence.

Comments

[Ahmad Khamissi Fard]

Most days there is shooting either in schools or elsewhere, perhaps if you knock at a neighbor's door, you'll face a gun before you can see your neighbor. The first solution many Americans suggest is to curb the sale of weapons which are sold so freely in abundance. The second remedy is perhaps creating more jobs, and devise regulations for any organization deem to work against the correct economic path, which leads and can create still more poor people.

[Mackenna Peters]

Mercieca argues that the national conversation about free speech versus civility in political discourse is a distraction from the root of our problem. She names an inability of citizens to spot and avoid propoganda, as well as the lack of education in the realm of productive conversation as the true culprit. Her point that modern propaganda is harder to avoid because it comes from the citizenry rather than the government is strong and it explains why the issue of free speech is so often raised. Someone will write an article or some other piece of media that is polarizing, poorly sourced, and destructive to the conversation, someone else will point this out, the original poster will defend themself by claiming the right to free speech as a private citizen, and any productive discourse is killed off before it can begin. Mercieca also emphasizes a lack of preparedness on the part of citizens to participate in an argumentative interaction that communicates the views of both sides effectively. She cites a decline in membership of different civil groups that facilitate small scale interaction with democracy and the conversation that it necessitates. In addition to this factor, I look to the overemphasis our education system places on STEM, and how the liberal arts and communications fields are dismissed, robbing many students of the skills and systems knowledge required to operate in public discourse effectively.

[Elizabeth West]

What text?

[maria hamdan]

As Jennifer Mercieca mentions in this article, she explains that "Our political discourse is broken". I'm thinking that we need to focus on freedom of speech more because everyone needs freedom of speech, it's a free world, you can do and say whatever you want. I agree with Mercieca because she explains that "America's public sphere is broken" which is true.

[Josselin Sandoval]

Mercieca argues that Americans “treat one another as partisans first and as citizens second”. Mercieca is arguing that people in the United States no longer treat people with proper human decency, they now treat people based on what political party or ideas they support. If you don't agree with someones political party you are now their biggest enemy. In making this comment, Mercieca warns that the media and government prefer that we view ourselves as partisans rather than citizens. She writes that "there is no media organization that we all trust to tell us what we need to know to make good decisions, and there is no government institution that we all trust to uphold the rule of law." Many new sources provide bias opinions that always cater to one certain political party or group of people. The same with the government and certain officials always target certain groups. As long as we view ourselves as partisans first and citizens second, the division within the United States will never disappear.

[Diamond I]

Although i should know better by now, I cannot help thinking that politics is always going to be biased. The citizens of America will never be able to communicate and solve a issues even when the side they are on is not in charge. While the government rarely admit as much, they often take their citizens for granted. We do play a part in spreading propaganda and who knows maybe we will cause another catastrophe, but if we learn to educate ourselves and see these issues in not just our own point of view but in the persons who on the opposite side of us point of view we could overcome this division between us. The government controls mostly everything that happens and like you said we play a part in spreading it not even realizing that is what we are doing. Those unfamiliar with the school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to educating yourself. Do not just keep a cycle going that you have no idea whether or not it is useful for you or your community. You don' want to bring others down and nor would you even want the community to bring you down. Communication is the simplest technique. We use it every single day, so we have to be able to understand both sides of the story. Judge appropriately, Do not allow propaganda to make you vulnerable in any way. Do not distrust the democratic ways. I wont sit here and say all of the things the democrats and republicans put us through will make us trust them so easily although they have played a huge part in breaking down this country but you have help make this world better as well as trust them in some ways.

[Matthew Bickel]

The system of democracy, as Mercieca argues, is a complete and utter disaster and could have been from the start. These talks of civility and hope have all diminished according to Mercieca. The media machines have done little to aid and instead fueled the split and unrest among Americans. These machines talk of conspiracies and one sided arguments while audiences grovel in the biased flow of media. However if there is to be a single piece of intelligent discourse amongst a topic, it will either become lost or attacked from a side that disapproves of the argument. This is what Mercieca sees and disputes, the lack of insight and responsible citenzenry will lead to the failure of democracy not the government. As she mentions, Americans are so easily polarized that clearly fake or biased propaganda, even during the recent elections, completely swayed and altered the people’s minds without difficulty. Yet, even without foreign interference, Mercieca points to the fact that we talk as propagandists as well instead of talking to each as fellow Americans. The understanding between each other has been lost and this could be the political tragedy that is coming to a breaking point.