Civility or Truth?

"He lied" shouted Congressman Wilson, during the President's Joint meeting with the Senate and Congress last Wednesday. The head, of the Speaker of the House, spun.; the President's face seemed to darken with anger; he seemed to slightly, verbally, stumble and then went on with his speech. It was a memorable moment.

It was reported, the Congressman called the President to apologize for interrupting the speech as soon as the event ended. The White House accepted it with the admonishment that civil discourse must be used to solve problems.

I agree. I believe in civility and good manners. "Please" and "Thank you" are every day necessities. Respect for others is requisite to our society. People should not be interrupted when they are speaking.

But I do have a question. .....

Is dishonest political rhetoric a part of Civil discourse?

I suggest that it isn't. A lie, and half truths are included, in that category, is an insult, It is a verbal sucker punch. The person to whom the lie is told doesn't expect it and often is surprised by the audacity of the liar. They ignore the lie to maintain civility. Their act of civility allows the liar to assume: they are easily duped; too trusting to check the facts; or too foolish to think it necessary. Each political lie represents arrogant smugness and total lack of respect for those to whom it is told. Respect can not co-exist with lies; and without mutual respect there is no real civility.

There was much hand wringing by the press, and the major political parties the next day about the lack of civility in our society as demonstrated by Congressman Wilson and by direct extension, all of us little people. We had shouted down unprepared or prevaricating politicians at the rowdy Town Halls. We joined the march on Washington to demand honest responsive government from those we have elected. Our "perceived" lack of decorum and civility was duly noted by much of the inside the beltway crowd. Neither press or pundits seemed interested in the truth they were only concerned with civility.

But someone was dishonest. If the President's statement was true: Representative Wilson's was not. Somebody was not telling the truth. Would, or would not, illegal aliens be covered by the health care bill. The congressman claimed he had offered two amendments to preclude them. Both were voted down. Over the weekend the party in power announced that they would now add a verification of citizenship to the bill. We know who told the truth and that is important because.....

Truth is important

There are those who think the parsing of words is a game. Arguing over the meaning of "is" is clever and sophisticated. Those activities make money for lawyers, and provide cover for the dishonest. Crisp, clean truth gets hidden by evasions, clever language and planned omissions. Sometimes the labels of truth and lies seem corrupted. Right is wrong, up is down, and white and black have merged to gray. Maybe it's time to look for the simple truths and honor those who share that value and vote from office those who don't.

When the content of a bill, is hidden by complicated language, hundreds (if not thousands) of pages, and sold to the American people with lies, half truths, and obfuscated pork, it is obvious that those who sponsor it know, it has no merit. Yet it is offered and voted on as a solution for the latest generated crisis. And they do it all, with feigned concern, staged courtesies, and bogus sincerity. The belt way crowd calls it "civility". I call it politics as usual.

Hmmmm,........... No thanks. I'll take Truth.